Former Berkeley County Deputy Clerk Faces Embezzlement, Other Charges

Posted by on in ,

                                                                  MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A former Berkeley County deputy clerk faces a number charges from indictments handed down by a grand jury, including embezzlement.  The indictments accuse Melissa Joanna Beavers of fraud amounting to more than a quarter-million dollars.

Beavers faces 41 separate counts in the indictments handed down last week, including forgery, falsifying accounts, uttering, and embezzling.

Count One – Embezzlement, alleges that between October 17th of 2019 and December 22nd of 2022, Deputy Clerk Beavers embezzled as much as $145,000.00 from the Berkeley County Clerk’s Office.

Among the other counts,

–One count of falsifying accounts “with intent to conceal the true state of any account or defraud the county or with the intent to enable or assist any person to obtain money to which she was not entitled.”
–Nine Counts of Forgery to the tune of $127,080.00
–Nine counts  of Uttering, which involved writing checks from the County Clerk’s office to “Beavers Roof Repair”
–Twenty counts forgery of a public record.  The allegations state that Beavers signed the name of Daniel Beavers, Jr., her now ex-husband, on documents related to their divorce, child support, and parenting plan.  The indictment alleges Beavers forged the signature of
–One  count related to  forging the signature of Notary Public Erin C. Dunn-Carey on documents.
–Count 40 “Keeping or Concealing an Instrument for Forging” alleges Beavers concealed and used an ex-Berkeley County Deputy Clerk’s notary stamp (issued to Erin C. Dunn-Carey) “for her own personal use.”
–Count 41 “Forgery of a Public Record,” alleges Beavers forged former Family Court Judge Sally Jackson’s digital signature on a Berkeley County Court Order “Order from December 8th, 2022”
In total, the amount of money represented from the 41-count indictment is $272,080.00
Read the indictments here: beavers indictment (1)
Berkeley County Clerk, Tony Petrucci released a statement:

Statement from Berkeley County Clerk Tony Petrucci:

“Melissa Beavers, who has been indicted on multiple counts of embezzlement and forgery has not worked in the County
Clerk’s office since I took office on January 1, 2023,” Petrucci said.
“Shortly after I took office, I discovered what appeared to be misuse of public funds coming into the County Clerk’s office.
I immediately invited law enforcement and the State Auditor to investigate the matter.
Since first discovering the issue, the County Clerk’s office has assisted investigators and instituted a number of changes to
how cash, fees, deposits, and checks are processed through the County Clerk’s office so that something like this never
happens again.
“I appreciate the assistance of the State Auditor’s office in identifying exactly what occurred, and how best to prevent it in
the future.”

Statement From The Berkeley County Commission:

“The Berkeley County Commission released the
following statement and background information in reference to the indictment of Melissa
Beavers, a former employee of the Berkeley County Clerk’s Office:
In December 2022, Ms. Beavers left her position with the County Clerk’s office after the
discovery that she had stolen a notary stamp of another County Clerk employee and forged
the notary’s signature and other signatures on multiple documents in a court case. Upon
discovering this, County officials immediately notified the Martinsburg City Police and asked
them to conduct an investigation.
Shortly after taking office in January 2023, new County Clerk Anthony Petrucci and senior staff
discovered anomalies with bank accounts and deposits indicating misuse of public funds.
County officials immediately contacted both the Martinsburg City Police and the West Virginia
State Auditor’s Office asking for a criminal investigation into potential misuse of funds.
Investigators for the State Auditor and the Berkeley County Prosecutor uncovered a
substantial amount of embezzlement by Ms. Beavers.
The Berkeley County Commission thanks Clerk Petrucci, the West Virginia State Auditor, the
Martinsburg City Police, and the Berkeley County Prosecutor for their hard work in ensuring
that justice is served.”

The Panhandle News Network’s Luke Wiggs contributed to this story.