Media release
(Stillwater, Okla) — Payne & Logan County District Attorney, Laura Austin Thomas, announced today the filing of an eight- count felony information against former Payne County Sheriff’s Office employee, Linda Farley. Farley, 61, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, faces 6 counts of Embezzlement and 2 counts of Making False Entry Relating to Expenditure of Public Funds. The penalty for each count of embezzlement is imprisonment in custody of the Department of Corrections for a term of not less than one (1) year nor more than ten (10) years, a fine equal to triple the amount of money embezzled and an order to pay restitution. The penalty for Making False Entry Relating To Expenditure of Public Funds is a fine not to exceed $500.00 and by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a term of not less than one (1) year nor more than twenty (20) years. In late November of 2021, District Attorney Thomas was notified by Payne County Sheriff Joe Harper and Payne County Clerk Glenna Craig that an outside vendor had sent in an original purchase order initiated by Farley on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office to the County Clerk’s office. That original invoice established that Linda Farley utilized the services of that vendor for work on her personal vehicle while she documented it as if work had been done on a county vehicle. Ms. Farley’s employment with the Sheriff’s Office was immediately terminated by Sheriff Harper. Farley is alleged to have utilized a number of false purchasing records and the Sheriff’s Office credit card to purchase different goods and services for personal use including automotive work on vehicles, hotel stays, home improvement items such as a farmhouse kitchen sink, vinyl flooring, siding and skirting, a double bathroom vanity, a glass storm door, a laptop computer and gasoline. She is also alleged to have submitted claims for overtime that was not authorized and for work purportedly competed by her son which never occurred and for
which her son had no knowledge.
According to District Attorney Thomas, “Based upon my decades of experience, I knew this invoice was likely only the tip of an iceberg and not a singular criminal incident. On November 30, 2021, I contacted the State Auditor’s Office and requested a full forensic audit of the Payne County Sheriff’s Office going back to Farley’s date of hire many years prior. In addition, I requested the services of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for a full criminal investigation into Farley’s activities.”
The full forensic audit began in July of 2022 and was completed in September, 2023 when the District Attorney’s Office was briefed on the auditor’s findings. Once the report was received by the DA’s office the OSBI began the completion of their investigation which required numerous subpoenas of bank records, many interviews, and the analysis and compiling of corroborative documentation related to the crimes. According to District Attorney Thomas, “This embezzlement was complex and brazen and committed by an employee trusted by the Sheriff’s Office. The employee embezzled county funds while in a position of public trust which can never be tolerated. Embezzlement prosecutions can be difficult and very time consuming focused on determining the precise criminal schemes used and how those schemes evaded detection for so long. Due to the importance to the citizens served by public officials and their employees, I take investigating and preventing these crimes of corruption very seriously. To ensure a meticulously successful prosecution I brought a former employee out of retirement for this matter. Former prosecutor, Karen Dixon, with nearly 40 years of prosecution experience and a specific expertise in embezzlement cases agreed to a part time position focused on this case as well as a handful of other embezzlement cases that were occurring in both Payne and Logan County. She simply has an unbeatable skill set regarding these types of complex prosecutions, and I’m thrilled she rejoined our team. The amount allegedly embezzled exceeds $137,700.00. The forensic audit cost to the Sheriff’s office is in the amount of $70,605.61 which we will also seek with any restitution in this matter.”
Farley appeared with her attorney, Samuel Endicott, on Wednesday, March 6th for initial appearance. The State requested bond in the amount of $100,000.
