Adkison sentenced to 56 months

Dana Adkison, the former manager at the Santa Rosa County Tax Collector’s Office convicted last month of grand theft and unlawful financial transactions, was sentenced to nearly five years in jail, last Thursday.

Judge Ron Swanson imposed a split sentence requiring Adkison to serve 56 months in prison for count 2 of her conviction, followed by 20 years of probation for count 1.

Swanson also ordered Adkison to make restitution totaling over $60,000 to be paid during the course of those 20 years. That amount includes investigative costs and reimbursement to Traveler’s Insurance who covers the Tax Collector’s Office.

Adkison is presently out on a $15,000 pretrial release approved by Swanson, and is required to check in weekly during the appeal process, which State Prosecutor Russ Edgar says can take up to two years.

“I don’t think she’s a flight risk,” said Swanson in approving the amount of the bond, “and she’s not a threat to the community, not a physical threat.”

The judge also stipulated Adkison may not work in any capacity where she would be responsible for cash receipts or deposits.

An emotional Adkison watched as her family and friends were given the opportunity to speak on her behalf at last week’s hearing.

Charles Holland, Adkison’s father, described his daughter as a caring person, and implored the Judge to show compassion, stating, “sometimes justice is best served with mercy.”

Adkison’s husband, Christpoher Adkison, asked the judge to allow his wife to return home so as to help raise their two small children, ages 6 and 8.

Stopping several times to compose herself, Adkison made a brief comment to the court .

“In a split second I feel like I’ve lost everything, my kids , my husband, my home. I feel like I’ve lost my life,” she said.

Adkison, who expressed remorse for check kiting, a scheme she did admit to during trial, continues to stand by her prior statements that she did not steal any money from the Tax Collector’s Office.

Despite the sentiments expressed by Adkison and her family, Prosecutor Russ Edgar asked the court to remember the testimony and evidence presented at trial.

Edgar reinforced the state’s position and the need for the minimum permissible sentence of 55.5 months as prescribed by state sentencing guidelines. He raised the question about what kind of role model Adkison would be to her children if released, or the what kind of example it would set for other county employees in similar capacities.

Tony Henderson, Adkison’s Public Defender, asked the court to consider two things in deciding an appropriate sentence. He reiterated the highest level of offense was the money laundering charge, which he reminded the Judge she admitted to all along, and the fact Adkison had no prior record.

During the trial Edgar argued that Adkison stole over ten thousand dollars, withheld deposits, and reversed transactions made by taxpayers. Her conviction reflected a total theft of over $100,000, which includes the delays or money moved around from different accounts. The state argued she accomplished this using three different methods: larceny, deposit lapping, and check kiting.

Larceny, or theft, is taking the money from the deposits. Lapping is a common method of concealing the theft whereby the money taken is replaced by money from another deposit, which is then replaced by yet another deposit, and so forth. This, Edgar said, caused the delays in deposits to get longer.

Check kiting is the process in which Adkison would write herself a personal check and cash it at the Santa Rosa County Federal Credit Union, and then deposit it in a Gulf Winds Credit Union. This process takes cash infusion to keep it going, and to do so; the state says she was taking money from the Tax Collector’s Office.

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