On Friday, June 5th, former City of Kingston Finance Director Carolyn Brewer, age 81, entered a guilty plea to Class C felony theft before Judge Jeff Wicks in Wartburg, Tennessee. The plea followed an extensive investigative audit by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, initiated by a fraud report in June 2023, which revealed that Brewer had overpaid herself more than $131,000 in unearned salary and benefits between July 1, 2014, and her retirement in June 2020.

Due to the labor-intensive nature of scrutinizing individual weekly payrolls, auditors capped their investigation at 2014, despite Brewer having held the position for decades. The investigation, which also showed that Brewer’s actions resulted in an over-credit of her retirement benefits, was supported by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and auditors Jimmy Hodges and Brett Bell.

Following the completion of the audit, District Attorney General Russell Johnson, Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Edwards, and Kingston City Attorney Andrew Thompson met with Brewer, her defense team, and the auditors to review the findings and discuss prosecution. This meeting resulted in a felony plea agreement where Brewer was handed a three-year Tennessee Department of Correction sentence; however, due to her advanced age, she will serve this sentence on probation.

As part of the agreement, Brewer paid $131,596.22 in restitution to the City of Kingston, alongside court costs and fines. With the guilty plea finalized, the Comptroller’s Office is set to release the official report to the public, and City Attorney Thompson will review the findings with Kingston City officials the following Tuesday.