Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Tamara (Tami) Sawyer embezzled $44,607.35 of public funds, according to a six-count indictment announced Monday.
Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, charged Sawyer with theft, money laundering, racketeering, and more. A statement from his office called it “a significant public corruption case.”
Sawyer allegedly used the funds for alcohol, food, and other items from UberEats and Instacart. The charges also include using public funds for herself at bars, hotels, restaurants, the Memphis Tigers, FedEx Forum, Turo, local fundraisers, and payments to various PayPal accounts — including her own.
Many of these transactions occurred on weekends or holidays when the clerk’s office was closed, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Although Sawyer claimed the expenses were for official business, officials said an investigation found they were personal.
Sawyer allegedly carried out the scheme by using procurement cards issued to other county employees, a county travel card, and by obtaining travel advances.
According to the charges, Sawyer also used the cards as part of a money‑laundering scheme. She transferred stolen funds to a PayPal account controlled by a friend, who kept a small portion and returned the remainder to Sawyer through CashApp.
Sawyer has been charged with the federal offenses of:
• conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud
• conspiracy to commit money laundering
• theft concerning programs receiving federal funds
• honest services wire fraud
• money laundering
• interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises
If convicted of all charges, the maximum possible punishment for these offenses is imprisonment for up to 20 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Protection of local government programs receiving federal funds against public corruption, theft, fraud, waste, and abuse is a top priority of this office and the Department of Justice,” Dunavant said in a statement. “We commend the FBI for their diligent and thorough investigation in this case.”
Terence G. Reilly of the FBI Nashville Field Office said, “As alleged, the defendant brazenly abused her authority as a General Sessions Court Clerk to steal taxpayer dollars to serve herself.
“The FBI is committed to working with our partners to combat public corruption and aggressively pursue those who betray public trust.”
