Special to the News
Last Friday Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the indictment and arrest of former International Motor Sports Hall of Fame employee Karen Lakey, 56, of Munford, on one count of the use of public employment for personal gain or gain of a family member.
Lakey turned herself into the Talladega County Sheriff’s Office without incident.
The Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Division obtained an indictment of Lakey after an investigation stemming from the audit conducted by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts into the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame (IMSHOF). At the time of the conduct charged in the indictment, Lakey was the bookkeeper for IMSHOF.
The indictment charges Lakey with using her position as bookkeeper of IMSHOF to obtain all or a portion of $159,477.55 of IMSHOF funds for her own gain or the gain of a family member.
If convicted, Lakey faces a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and a $30,000 fine for the use of public employment for personal gain, which is a class B felony. No further information about the investigation or the alleged crimes may be released at this time.
Attorney General Marshall thanked the Department of the Examiners of Public Accounts and the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame for their assistance during the investigation of this matter.
An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
