BREAKING: Republican Official ACCUSED of Paying Herself with Taxpayer Funds
Ashley Powell ran for Geneva County Circuit Clerk as a Republican in 2024 and won. She held a position of public trust responsible for the county’s court records and finances. According to a new grand jury indictment, she used that position to funnel more than $93,000 of taxpayer money directly into her own pocket.
Republicans love to talk about fraud and abuse in the government. Turns out, they’re the ones committing the fraud.
What She’s Accused Of
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the arrest of 52-year-old Ashley Powell, the Geneva County Circuit Clerk, following a grand jury indictment. Investigators say Powell shattered public trust by using her official position for personal gain, and the indictment accuses her of illegally routing more than $93,000 of public funds directly to herself.
Under Alabama law, using an official office for personal gain is a Class B felony. If convicted, Powell faces a prison sentence of anywhere from two to 20 years.
Her Arrest Was Long Expected
This indictment did not come out of nowhere. Powell had already been barred from her own office for months by the time the grand jury acted.
State officials barred Powell from her courthouse duties in March after initial audits flagged missing local accounts. Following her suspension, Powell retained defense counsel as state prosecutors began presenting financial records to the grand jury.
Geneva County Presiding Circuit Judge Bill Filmore signed an order in March prohibiting Powell from entering the clerk’s office. She was required to surrender her keys and stay away from the office entirely while the investigation continued. Agents with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office were seen in Geneva gathering evidence around that same time. Employees from Alabama’s Administrative Office of Courts had to be brought in to run the office in her absence.
Her Political Career
Powell was appointed Geneva County circuit clerk in April 2023 to fill the remainder of a term, then won election to the position outright in 2024, running as a Republican. She told a local news outlet at the time that she planned to run for the office in that election.
That role put her at the center of one of the county’s most sensitive public functions: managing court finances and records, and playing an important role in the local election process itself, with primaries only months away when her suspension began.
What Comes Next
The Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Division, which typically handles corruption and public corruption cases, is prosecuting the case. Investigators have not disclosed the specific manner in which Powell allegedly routed the money to herself.
Powell has not been convicted of any crime. She is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise in court.
The Bottom Line
A Republican elected official responsible for safeguarding Geneva County’s court records and public funds is now accused of stealing more than $93,000 from the taxpayers she served. She was barred from her own office for months while the state built its case. Now a grand jury has formally indicted her, and she faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The public funds she is accused of taking were meant to keep the county’s court system running. Instead, prosecutors say, they went straight into her own accounts.