25-year Sentence For Ex-county Employee

A former employee of the Mills County Treasurer’s Office has been sentenced to serve 25 years in prison for the theft of funds from the auto licensing department.

Tammy Jo Gammon, 43, pleaded guilty to the Class B felony in November. She was sentenced Monday in Mills County District Court by Judge Timothy O’Grady.

Mills County Attorney Eric Hansen said he was satisfied with the sentencing and believed Gammon received the maximum penalty from O’Grady because of the high number of fraudulent transactions that took place over an extended period of time. Hansen noted the state auditor’s office is backed up with investigations concerning similar types of cases from across the state.

“We need to let people know you can’t steal money from the public,” Hansen said.
Gammon was arrested in June 2012 after an investigation by the state auditor’s office identified 182 improperly voided or altered vehicle registration renewals, vehicle titles and improper fee adjustments made over a six-year period, from 2005-2011, at the county treasurer’s office. Around $35,000 was believed to have been stolen from the auto department.

According to the state auditor’s findings, Gammon admitted to investigators from the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation she voided certain statements and kept cash to use for her own “day-to-day expenses.”

Many of the questionable transactions uncovered were recorded with Gammon’s user identification code, but according to staff members in the treasurer’s office, she also had access to her co-workers’ user identifications and passwords.
Hansen said his office submitted witness impact statements to the judge prior to Monday’s sentencing. Gammon submitted letters of support from an employer and other acquaintances.

In addition to the prison time, Hansen said Gammon will also be required to pay approximately $30,000 in restitution to the county for unrecovered funds and expenses associated with the audit and investigation. Hansen said he cannot predict how much prison time Gammon will actually serve.

“It will be up to the parole board,” he said.