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Former Alabama sheriff gets probation in tax case

FILE - In this March 22, 2013 file photo, the exterior of the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington. As millions of Americans file their income tax returns, their chances of getting audited by the IRS have rarely been so low. The number of people audited by the IRS last year dropped for the sixth straight year, to just over 1 million. The last time so few people were audited was 2004, when the population was significantly smaller. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) FILE - In this March 22, 2013 file photo, the exterior of the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington. As millions of Americans file their income tax returns, their chances of getting audited by the IRS have rarely been so low. The number of people audited by the IRS last year dropped for the sixth straight year, to just over 1 million. The last time so few people were audited was 2004, when the population was significantly smaller. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

By Associated Press October 17, 2019 1 min read

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A former Alabama sheriff will avoid going to prison after pleading guilty to failing to file tax returns.

News outlets report a federal magistrate sentenced former Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin to two years on probation during a hearing in Huntsville on Thursday.

The 55-year-old Franklin also must perform 300 hours of community service.

Franklin faced a maximum sentence of six months in prison for failing to file tax returns for 2015. That same year she had taken $160,000 from a jail food account and provided it to a car lot.

Franklin and her lawyer had argued the money was a loan, but a judge concluded it was personal income.

Franklin didn’t seek re-election to a third term last year. She told reporters the episode is behind her now.