The Switzerland County School Corporation has filed an amended complaint in Jefferson County Circuit Court asking that Raymond Geyman, husband of former school corporation treasurer Ann Geyman, be included in the civil lawsuit that was previously filed against his wife.
Ann Geyman is accused of embezzling $1,054,289.15 from the Switzerland County School Corporation over a period of just over four years. Once the missing funds were discovered, the school corporation filed a civil lawsuit against Ann Geyman in an effort to recover the stolen funds, and on May 17th Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Ted Todd approved an order that froze her assets and bank accounts until the civil and criminal matters are concluded.
She was charged criminally in United States District Court on June 27th, and is currently under in home detention with an electronic monitoring device pending additional hearings.
Although school officials can comment in depth about the case or what brought the schools to include Raymond Geyman in the civil complaint, at the time Ann Geyman was confronted by school superintendent Tracy Caddell, assistant superintendent Darin Gullion, and school attorney Ron Hocker about the missing funds, she apparently told them that she took the money in part because her husband had a gambling problem.
Ann Geyman later denied making that statement during an interview with federal investigators, but Ron Hocker testified to hearing her make the comment during the court proceedings that froze her assets.
Also, during the federal investigation that led to the criminal charges, the affidavit for search warrant gave details about how investigators found personal items belonging to Ann Geyman stored and hidden in several locations.
Interviews with people who lived at the locations show that the items had been moved to those locations after Ann Geyman was dismissed from her job as school corporation treasurer.
In the amended complaint filed with the Jefferson Circuit Court on July 13th, under “Factual Allegations, Dual Accounts”, item number six states: “R. Geyman had knowledge, conspired, and otherwise participated in the theft of School funds by A. Geyman.”
In Count I, ‘Conversion’, the court documents state in item number nine that: “A. Geyman and R. Geyman, without authority, exercised possession and control over assets of the School in the form of its funds.”
In Count II, ‘Temporary and Permanent Restraining Order’, in item number 13 states: “The School will suffer irreparable harm unless this Court orders the Preliminary Injunction of May 17, 2007, to encompass and incorporate R. Geyman as a party defendant and enjoin him from transferring, conveying, removing, or encumbering assets identified in such Order in which he may have an interest.”
A court date to hear this amended complaint has not yet been set in Jefferson Circuit Court. At that time the judge will determine if he will grant the motion to include Raymond Geyman as a defendant or not.
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In an effort to cover any “holes” in the system, the school corporation has formed a committee consisting of Superintendent Caddell; Assistant Superintendent Gullion; corporation treasurer Wilma Swango; assistant treasurer Melissa May; school board member Virgil McKay; and high school teacher Travis Martin.
The committee will continue to review procedures and establish new guidelines for checks and balances within the school system’s financial areas.