Attorney general to review request to probe Oran timecard allegations; claims spark denials on Facebook

ORAN, Mo. -- The Missouri Attorney General's office said Monday it is reviewing a request for the Missouri State Highway Patrol to investigate accusations of timecard fraud involving a former Oran police officer.

The former officer, Jason Ourth, and Oran Mayor Gary Senciboy took to Facebook over the weekend in an effort to refute the accusations.

Ourth served as a part-time officer for Oran for a little more than three years. He resigned last month amid the fraud accusations.

Two women with current or past ties to Oran city government -- former city clerk Debra Phillips and Cindy Seyer, wife of Alderman Neal Seyer -- raised the issue at a meeting of the town's aldermen last month.

Cindy Seyer emailed the Attorney General's Office last week requesting a patrol investigation.

Ourth and Senciboy took to Facebook last weekend to refute the accusations.

Senciboy posted on his Facebook page the allegations were false and made by "two uninformed Oran citizens."

He maintained Ourth "was not a traditional patrol officer" and "was performing surveillance on known illegal drug activities in the city."

Senciboy wrote Ourth's part-time work "was performed incognito, which means his presence as an employed officer was to be low profile."

The mayor said the accusations blew Ourth's cover and prompted the officer to resign.

But Ourth said Sunday on Facebook he resigned because he is self-employed and "not into small-town politics."

Ourth and his wife live in Benton, Missouri, and operate a custom screenprinting business.

Jason Ourth was hired as an officer by his father, Oran police chief Gregg Ourth. The police chief has called the accusations unfounded and accused the women of being vindictive.

Jason Ourth said he handled duties as requested by his father, Senciboy and former mayor Tom Urhahn, who now is city clerk.

Ourth said he worked to protect the cemetery from vandalism and guard against other crime.

In his Facebook post, he said he also handled other duties for the city.

"When your new stop signs was installed in town to protect your children near the school as requested by the city council, I operated the backhoe several days setting them signs inside the city of Oran," he wrote.

He said he did the work because public-works staff were busy working on culverts at the time.

Jason Ourth wrote he was on duty at Oran basketball games "when conflict was possibly going to occur." He added, "Yep, I watched the games from the stands."

According to Seyer and Phillips, Gregg Ourth, who is salaried, handled Jason's timecards. They said Gregg Ourth clocked in his son's timecard and would write in clock-out times.

But Jason Ourth in his Facebook post claimed Cindy Seyer made the allegations in an effort to bring in former Scott County sheriff Rick Walter as police chief.

Seyer said Monday she and Walter are relatives, but she said Ourth's claim is unfounded. Seyer said Walter is working in law enforcement in Mississippi County.

Jason Ourth said on Facebook he previously suffered a stroke, which led him to resign as a Benton police officer a few years before he was hired for the Oran position.

"I was requested by my doctor to take time off after my stroke," he wrote, adding he has had a history of health issues.

At a special meeting last month, the Oran Board of Aldermen rejected a request by Seyer and Phillips to ask the Missouri State Highway Patrol to investigate the timecard issue.

But the two women continue to push their case.

Seyer has started an online petition asking the attorney general to investigate the issue.

"If there's nothing to hide there shouldn't be any reason to deny an investigation request," she wrote on her Facebook page. "An investigation will put to rest any allegations either way."

Seyer said she doesn't understand why the aldermen would oppose an outside investigation the Highway Patrol and Missouri Public Safety director Drew Juden told her could be done at no cost to the city.

Seyer and Phillips said they plan to call again for an investigation at the town board meeting Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. at city hall.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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