Putnam County Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach on Thursday announced the firing of two veteran deputies for alleged timecard fraud.
The terminations come after a months-long probe into discrepancies that cost the department thousands in taxpayer dollars, the agency said in a release.
“To say I am disappointed is a gross understatement to how I feel about the discredit these two have placed on my agency,” DeLoach said. “We have a commitment to uphold the faith and public trust our community places with us and these two trampled it for personal gain and are no different than the criminals we arrest on the streets.”
The investigation began in August when a supervisor noticed Lt. Michael Wells’ timecard showed regular hours on August 4 and 5—despite him simultaneously teaching at a law enforcement academy.
Wells, who had been an instructor since January 2024, failed to use required leave while receiving pay from both the academy and the sheriff’s office. A total of169 hours were in question, resulting in a loss of $6,522.49, the agency said.
Wells was put on administrative leave on August 22. A subsequent internal investigation found multiple instances of falsified timecards, including unreported vacation time and other personal absences, the agency said.
He was fired on October 6 and now faces felony charges of grand theft and official misconduct, officials said.
In a separate probe, investigators found that Det. Elias Rivera failed to log leave time while working at least 16 off-duty details during regular work hours over seven months. The loss totaled $2,558.45 for 95.5 unreported hours.
Rivera was fired on October 16 and also faces felony charges of grand theft and official misconduct.
“I expect that we continue to operate at a high standard of professionalism,” DeLoach said. “We will continue to ensure we provide the best service to our community and be fiscally conscious of taxpayers money.”
Both Wells and Rivera began their careers as patrol deputies, in 2014 and 2011 respectively, and had no prior disciplinary history.
