Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick says law enforcement should pursue criminal prosecution of a former Randolph County sheriff following the release of an audit into that office.

The report made public Tuesday, Sept. 9 says that former county sheriff Aaron Wilson had been responsible for the misappropriating or improperly spending over $222,600 in funds in his office, with nearly $2000 of that still missing. According to the audit, Wilson made 11 improper cash withdrawals and also cashed two checks improperly, with no documentation for the expenses Wilson claimed he was reimbursing.

The audit also reports over $166,000 in improper and unsupported disbursements from the Benevolent Fund and Commissary accounts, including those Wilson is said to have performed without approval or oversight from the Randolph County Commission. Roughly half of that is believed to have been used in connection with the purchase of at least five vehicles without obtaining bids, as required by state law. The state audit also suggests that Wilson violated several provisions of the Missouri Constitution by providing one-time payments to employees at the county jail, making donations to a private school, and covering personal membership dues at a local civic club.

The audit was requested by the Randolph County Commission following complaints phoned into the state auditor’s whistleblower hotline. Wilson had been elected the county’s sheriff in 2020, but lost his bid for re-election in the August 2024 primary to Andy Boggs. The commission had successfully sought a restraining order last October preventing Wilson from accessing any of the accounts associated with the sheriff’s office. The audit gave the sheriff’s office a poor rating, and comes months following the state auditor’s routine audit of Randolph County.