(Note: This article has been updated with new information)
HOPEWELL − A grand jury has indicted the Hopewell treasurer on four charges stemming from an investigation into allegations of improprieties in office.
According to records in Hopewell Circuit Court, Shannon Foskey was charged with two counts of forging and uttering a public record, one count of computer fraud to obtain services valued at more than $1,000, and one count of disabling computer software. All of the charges are felonies and each carry a maximum 10-year prison sentence if convicted.
Foskey, 39, was subsequently arrested by the Virginia State Police and taken to Riverside Regional Jail in Prince George County, where she was released on an unsecured bond. The indictments came just a couple of days after state police investigators seized computer records and software from her office.
Her next court appearance is set for Oct. 16 in Hopewell Circuit Court.
The investigation is believed to have stemmed from a whistleblower's report that Foskey illegally took her name off a state Department of Motor Vehicles “holds list” that prevents citizens who owe back personal property taxes from doing such DMV transactions as license and registration renewal until the payments are verified as settled by the locality's treasurer. Foskey has denied the accusation, claiming she repaid the taxes owed and was properly reinstated by the only other employee in her office authorized to do such transactions.
Foskey was repeatedly singled out in reports from the Robert Bobb Group assisting Hopewell with re-establishing its money-management system for being uncooperative with requests for information. The group reported finding "numerous issues" with the treasurer's recordkeeping in determining how much Hopewell was owed in delinquent real-estate and personal-property taxes.
At one point, RBG says Foskey, who as treasurer is responsible for managing Hopewell's checkbook, bounced at least five checks due to insufficient funds in the account.
As a result of the audit, RBG recommended that Hopewell's accounting duties, which fell under the treasurer's direction, should be shifted to Hopewell's finance department. City Council approved that recommendation.
Foskey and the Treasurers Association of Virginia pushed back against RBG's claims, saying she inherited many of the problems identified by RBG and has been nothing but cooperative with them.
There are 11 positions in the treasurer's office, four of which are currently vacant. One of those vacancies is the deputy treasurer, the position who traditionally fills in during a treasurer's absence.
The treasurer's position is one of several offices in Hopewell directly elected by voters. The other constitutional officers are sheriff, commonwealth's attorney, commissioner of the revenue and clerk of the circuit court.
Hopewell city officials have not yet issued a statement about the arrest. The Progress-Index also reached out to the treasurers' association for a reaction.
Foskey, who was elected to the job in 2022, also is under investigation from the state Department of Elections over allegations of not paying more than $1,300 in campaign fines from the 2022 race. The DOE says Foskey did not close out her campaign account as required by state election law, therefore accruing the financial penalties.
Foskey also has denied that claim.
Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Hopewell treasurer indicted on computer fraud, record forgery charges
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