Former Rogersville Water Department Superintendent Stole Thousands

An investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office, working in conjunction with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Rogersville Police Department, has resulted in the indictment of Shawn Hatchett, the former Rogersville Water Department superintendent.

Investigators determined that Hatchett failed to deposit $69,444 in cash by withholding money from 16 separate water department deposits he was supposed to deliver to the bank. Hatchett used a lapping scheme to carry out the theft. This scheme involves diverting a day’s collections for personal benefit and then concealing the misappropriation by depositing in its place a subsequent day’s collection.

Hatchett stole an additional $500 by preparing an unauthorized check made payable to a department employee and requesting that the employee cash the check and bring the cash back to him. Hatchett kept the cash for his personal use.

Investigators also revealed that, beginning in 2015, Hatchett gave himself thousands of hours of compensatory time (comp time), even though city policies made him ineligible for comp time. In January 2017, for example, Hatchett ordered the water department payroll clerk to add 3,000 hours of comp time to his leave balance.

Shawn Hatchett’s Annual Compensation from the Department