Former Monroe County public administrator facing forgery, stealing charges pleads not guilty; bond reduction denied

PARIS, Mo. — A former public administrator in Monroe County facing 34 counts for forgery, stealing and financial exploitation pled not guilty during her arraignment Wednesday and was denied a bond reduction.

Jessica Chase appeared via Webex with attorney Tyler White, who was in person in the Monroe County Circuit Court before Judge Rick Roberts.

After her arrest on June 10 by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control, Chase was charged with:

• Three counts of financial exploitation of an elder/disabled person, a Class E felony punishable for up to four years in the Missouri Department of Corrections or one year in jail;
• Two counts of fraudulent use of a credit/debit device, also a Class E felony;
• Three counts of financial exploitation of an elder/disabled person, a Class D felony punishable for up to seven years in the DOC or one year in jail;
• Seven counts of filing false documents, also a Class D felony;
• 12 counts of felony stealing $750 or more, also a Class D felony;
• Six counts of forgery, also a Class D felony;
• One count of money laundering, a Class B felony punishable for between five and 15 years in the DOC.

White argued the bond, set at $150,000 cash only, is too high.

“That is, in my opinion, excessive,” he said.

White asked for the court to reduce the bond to $10,000.

“The offenses that she is charged with are serious in nature, but they do not involve force or violence of any kind,” White said. “She is not a danger to the community in any way. She would be willing to abide by any conditions that the court would want for her.”

White expounded on Chase’s involvement in the community as evidence of her character.

“She has a very good character, unlike most who are seen with charges of this nature,” White said. “She’s a substitute teacher, a member of the Sante Fe Christian Church, she’s a teacher at a vocational bible school. She does not have any serious criminal convictions or arrests on her record. She has no mental health conditions and has never been treated for any.”

The court found Chase has a clean criminal record, except for traffic violations. White said there would be no reason for Chase to not appear in court in the future. Monroe County prosecuting attorney Nicole Volkert noted Chase failed to appear on two occasions on traffic tickets, and she failed to appear in the Probation Division when directed to do so concerning the investigation of these cases in that division. Volkert suggested Chase is a flight risk.

Volkert also cited the people Chase was working with as cause for concern.

“People who were not able to take care of their own money, the most vulnerable in our society, that’s who she stole from. That is very significant to this case,” Volkert said. “It’s also one of the reasons she’s facing the number of counts that she is. She is facing a lengthy sentence in prison.”

White said Chase would retain her position at the Paris License Office once she is released, which Volkert again said raises concerns.

“It’s very concerning that the licnese bureau would hire her,” Volkert said. “I think it violates the Drivers Privacy Protection Act. She would have access to citizens’ personal privately protected information. She would also be handling government money, which the state has serious concerns about.”

Roberts eventually ruled against the bond reduction.

Volkert said further charges could be filed as the investigation continues.

“Other members of the community have reached out to my office and law enforcement expressing concern about statements, activities, things they thought were suspicious,” she said. “I would indicate the investigation continues. The state has been in communication with the Department of Revenue that routinely investigates embezzlement cases for review of taxes as well as the Medicaid fraud unit at the Attorney General’s Office because each of these individuals were receiving Medicaid money at the time.”

A status hearing was set for Aug. 16.