Ashton Marra Published

Ethics Commission Orders Fine, Training in Ex-Sheriff Complaint

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The West Virginia Ethics Commission is ordering a former county sheriff that pled guilty to mail fraud and served a year in prison to pay a fine and undergo training. The commission said the ex-sheriff used his position for personal gain.

The Ethics Commission released the decision Friday ordering former Barbour County Sheriff John Hawkins to pay a $1,000 fine and undergo training on the state Ethics Act.

Hawkins admitted to stealing nearly $200 from a small cash fund kept at the Barbour County Sheriff’s Department.

Hawkins was released from federal prison in June of this year after pleading guilty to insurance mail fraud. Hawkins served one-year and one-day for fabricating a car accident report in April 2013 and collecting more than $8,000 from an insurance company.

As a part of the plea deal, Hawkins resigned from his post as sheriff in 2014, relinquished his law enforcement certification and agreed to never again serve as a law enforcement officer.