Allegations of timecard fraud in Oran in hands of Missouri Attorney General's Office to avoid conflict of interest

Findings of a Missouri State Highway Patrol inquiry into allegations of timecard fraud involving the Oran, Missouri, Police Department will be placed in the hands of the Missouri Attorney General's Office.

Loree Anne Paradise, deputy chief of staff for the attorney general, said the agency was named special prosecutor in the case because of a "conflict of interest."

The patrol's division of drug and crime control has spent months investigating the matter.

"We have not received a final report from the MSHP (Highway Patrol)," Paradise said in an email to the Southeast Missourian this week. To date, no charges have been filed.

Capt. John Hotz, director of public information for the patrol, said in October the agency was conducting "a preliminary inquiry into the matter to determine if any actions of any party are criminal and if an investigation is warranted."

On Dec. 28, patrol Sgt. S.M. Griggs told the newspaper in an email "the preliminary inquiry is still ongoing, however nearing completion."

But Feb. 8, Griggs suggested the case was in the hands of the attorney general's office.

"I do not anticipate having any updates until the appropriate prosecutorial authority provides a decision concerning whether the matter is criminal and if a full investigation is warranted," he wrote in an email.

A citizen's complaint, accusing Oran police chief Gregg Ourth and his son, Jason, of committing timecard fraud, was turned over to the patrol, the Scott County prosecutor's office said last fall.

But the Attorney General's Office (AGO) has now revealed the request for a patrol investigation was made by the Scott County prosecutor's office "on or about May 22, 2017."

On July 26, 2017, Scott County assistant prosecuting attorney R. Zachary Horack filed a motion seeking to have the AGO appointed special prosecutor in the case.

The AGO provided a copy of the motion to the Southeast Missourian.

In the motion filed in Scott County Circuit Court, Horack wrote his office asked for the MSHP to investigate the allegations and for the AGO to serve as special prosecutor to avoid any "conflict of interest."

The Scott County prosecutor's office outlined "the potential conflict of interest that might exist should the Scott County Sheriff's Department conduct the investigation." Horack wrote Sheriff Wes Drury and Gregg Ourth were "political opponents" in the 2016 primary election for sheriff.

Horack requested the AGO serve as special prosecutor in the case "to avoid any further appearance of a conflict of interest." Judge David Dolan signed an order naming the AGO as special prosecutor the same day that the motion was filed.

Oran resident Cindy Seyer and former city clerk Debra Phillips first raised the allegations to the town's board of aldermen in April.

They asked the board to request the patrol investigate the matter. The town board refused.

Seyer subsequently sent repeated emails to Drury requesting the allegations be investigated.

On Sept. 22, the prosecutor's office informed Seyer the matter had been submitted to the highway patrol.

Six days later, two state troopers met with Oran Mayor Gary Senciboy and city attorney Amanda Oesch at city hall, according to Seyer.

Seyer said Wednesday she met with patrol investigators in November.

She said the officers told her Senciboy had stated the city was "not a victim" in the case.

Seyer said the investigators told her "without a victim, there is very little they can do."

City officials, including Senciboy and Gregg Ourth, have said the allegations are unfounded.

Both Gregg and Jason Ourth have said little publicly about the case since the allegations surfaced.

Seyer and Phillips alleged Jason Ourth was paid for hours he did not work as a police officer for Oran. He was hired by his father as the city's only other police officer in February 2014. Jason Ourth resigned in April after the allegations of timecard fraud surfaced.

Phillips said Gregg Ourth clocked in his son's timecard and would manually write in clock-out times.

Senciboy said he has not heard from the patrol since the September meeting with investigators. "I wish they would hurry up and get it done," the mayor said Wednesday.

Seyer said Wednesday she was never informed that the attorney general's office had been named special prosecutor in the case, nor that the Scott County prosecutor's office had requested a patrol investigation months before that fact was disclosed to her.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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