Former General Sessions Court employee John Bowers, who was fired Thursday, surrendered for booking overnight on a grand jury indictment charging him with official misconduct and stealing more than $100,000 in fees paid by persons sentenced to traffic school. Bowers was the person who received the payments from defendants after they appeared before a judge.
The investigation, begun earlier this month by the MNPD’s Fraud Unit and the FBI, alleges that Bowers created false paperwork to cover up the repeated thefts which are believed to have taken place for a prolonged period of time and frequently involved defendants with limited English and little knowledge of the court system.
Search warrants were executed Thursday on Bowers’ person, car and home. He was fired the same day. The Davidson County Grand Jury returned the indictment Friday. Bowers is being held in the Metro Jail. His bond was set at $75,000 by a Criminal Court judge.
