Lawmakers To Refer Treasurer Shoffner Practices For Criminal Review

State lawmakers said they would ask the Division of Legislative Audit to consider a law enforcement investigation of questionable bond transactions in State Treasurer Martha Shoffner’s office.

Shoffner, a Democrat, has been questioned about the early sale of multiple bond transactions in her office surrounding a Russellville financial firm known as St. Bernard Financial Services. Shoffner has denied any wrongdoing.

Rob Moritz with our content partner, the Arkansas News Bureau, reports:

Rep. Tim Summers, R-Bentonville, co-chairman of the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, said the director of the Division of Legislative Audit would decide whether to ask the state police or the U.S. attorney’s office to review 30 bond transactions by Shoffner’s office.

Summers told reporters after the committee met Friday that he did not know if any crimes had been committed.

“The one thing I’m certain of is there’s a lot of smoke and we need to get to the bottom of it,” Summers said. “We want to know what went on and who is responsible for it, and if there was anything that went on that wasn’t proper.”

At issue are millions of dollars in bond transactions that could have shortchanged the state hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in earnings due to their early sale.

Shoffner said there are changes being implemented in her office for purposes of “rectifying everything.”  You can read more at this link.