Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced on Tuesday that prosecution by his Office will send a former city payroll clerk in Christian County to prison.
Late Monday evening, a Christian County jury delivered guilty verdicts against Hailey Bamford, 40, of Fort Campbell. Bamford was found guilty on one count of Abuse of Public Trust (a Class D Felony punishable by one to five years in prison) and three counts of Tampering with Public Records (also a Class D Felony).
Bamford was hired as the payroll clerk for the city of Oak Grove in January 2022. According to charges filed in Christian Circuit Court, Bamford altered her hours to reflect both regular and overtime hours she did not work from May 2022 through October 2023. Bamford’s overpayments varied from $100 to $1000.
The jury recommended Bamford serve a sentence of one year imprisonment and to be required to pay restitution to the City of Oak Grove. Following the return of the verdict, Bamford was remanded by the judge into the custody of the Christian County Sheriff’s Office.
“Public servants all share the same responsibility to be stewards of the public trust,” Coleman said after the trial. “The defendant abused that trust and will now face the consequences of her actions.”
The Kentucky State Police conducted the investigation of the case, while Assistant Attorneys General Barbara Maines Whaley and Jennifer Hall prosecuted the matter on behalf of the Commonwealth.
Bamford is scheduled to have her formal sentencing on Wednesday, November 18, at 1:00
Hailey Bamford. (Photo courtesy of the Attorney General’s Office)
