Cass County official pleads not guilty to receiving stolen property

A Cass County official was recently charged with receiving stolen property, according to court records filed by the state attorney general’s office.

Melody A. Folsom, public administrator in Cass County, was charged May 5. Court records indicate Folsom pleaded not guilty through her attorney Thursday.

Folsom, of Harrisonville, declined to comment on the charge Thursday.

The charge, a felony, was filed by Assistant Missouri Attorney General Scott T. Sergent.

According to the Cass County website, Folsom serves as a public administrator, a position within the county that acts as the court-appointed guardian and conservator for minors or people with disabilities.

In a probable cause statement signed by Sgt. Christopher Scott of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, authorities stated Folsom ordered a subordinate to falsify a purchase order on or around Nov. 25, 2015, representing that she was entitled to a reimbursement in order to obtain $725 from the Cass County Treasurer’s Office.

Court records said that by Dec. 10, 2015, the treasurer issued a check payable to Folsom for $725 in reliance of the allegedly false purchase order. Authorities said Folsom was “not entitled to the reimbursement.”

Scott said he interviewed Folsom on March 29, 2016, about the alleged incident. Authorities said Folsom told them her office budget reimbursed her for cleaning out an estate in March 2014. Records also said Folsom told authorities she had not created an invoice for the work, and deposited the $725 check into her personal account.

Scott wrote that Folsom indicated she would be willing to pay back the $725.

According to the records, Cass County Auditor Ryan Wescoat contacted authorities on the same day they interviewed Folsom and said Folsom had provided a personal check for $725 to the Cass County Treasurer’s Office.

Authorities also interviewed Garrett Houghton, whom documents identify as Folsom’s subordinate. Houghton allegedly told Scott he was paid $400 to clean a house in March 2014 and said an invoice was not created for the work. Houghton told police that Folsom had him write a purchase order in November 2015 “to pay her back.”

A spokesman for the Cass County Sheriff’s Office said Folsom was taken into custody and released Thursday after posting bond.

An arraignment in the case is scheduled June 29 in Cass County Circuit Court.

This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Cass County official pleads not guilty to receiving stolen property."