MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of illegally profiting from jail inmates’ work under his supervision. He also faced accusations of housing dozens of inmates in a home outside of the prison without authorization. Thomas entered the plea for 18 charges during a circuit court hearing in Trenton. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 22 in the county where he serves as sheriff.
In May, Thomas was indicted in both Gibson and Davidson counties on 22 charges, which include official misconduct, theft, forgery, and computer crimes involving jail inmates. He will have an arraignment hearing for the Davidson County charges in Nashville at a later date. William Massey, Thomas’ lawyer, stated that his client deserves the presumption of innocence and is looking forward to defending himself in court.
Investigators discovered that Thomas was involved with three for-profit companies that provided staffing services to local businesses. These companies also housed current and former inmates in a transitional home, as well as provided transportation for work-release inmates and former inmates commuting to and from work. Thomas failed to disclose his ownership in the companies, collectively known as Alliance Group, in his annual filings with the Tennessee Ethics Commission, according to Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower on June 13.
It was revealed that Thomas directed over $1.4 million in inmate wage fees and deductions to benefit Alliance Group. More than 170 inmates under Thomas’ supervision were employed by Alliance’s staffing agency during the investigation. The investigators also noted that 82 inmates were allowed to reside at Orchard House transitional home without proper approval, charging them $40 per day, despite it not being authorized by the Gibson County jail.
Additionally, Thomas received unlawfully acquired funds totaling over $181,000 in compensation, payroll benefits, and legal representation services from Alliance, the comptroller’s office reported. Furthermore, investigators found that Thomas misled the Tennessee Department of Correction by falsely indicating the county jail as the location of the inmates in the state’s offender management system instead of the transitional home. This deceit resulted in the county receiving over $500,000 in reimbursements from the state, which were later transferred to Orchard House without the correction department’s knowledge or consent.
The comptroller’s office shared that Orchard House was not affiliated with the jail, had no jail personnel, and lacked a contract between the county and Orchard House. The Associated Press published stories related to U.S. prison labor in May, coinciding with Thomas’ indictment. Gibson County, located northwest of Memphis, faced a similar situation over seven years ago when another Gibson County sheriff, Chuck Arnold, pleaded guilty to charges like fraud, theft, forgery, and official misconduct in connection to misappropriating drugs and money from a jail medication fund. Arnold received a probationary sentence.