A former Hamilton County Schools transportation manager performed work for commercial food delivery services more than 900 times during work hours, according to the Tennessee comptroller’s office.
On May 7, the Hamilton County grand jury indicted David Eaves on charges of theft, forgery, violating the Tennessee Personal and Commercial Computer Act of 2002, official misconduct and destruction of and tampering with government records, the comptroller’s investigative report said.
The investigation, which occurred after officials with the school district reported the former manager used his work-assigned vehicle to work for food delivery services, found Eaves misappropriated at least $18,368 from Hamilton County Schools when he performed work for commercial food delivery and rideshare services, including Uber Eats and DoorDash, during work hours.
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Eaves was suspended and placed on unpaid administrative leave May 19, 2022. He requested an early retirement June 3, 2022, which was approved by district officials, according to the report.
Upon his date of hire, Eaves signed Hamilton County Schools’ vehicle use policy that explicitly prohibited the personal use of work vehicles. Delivery records showed Eaves began food delivery and rideshare services during district work hours on the first day he was employed. From March 20, 2017, through June 30, 2022, Eaves spent around 399 hours driving for food delivery and rideshare services and not performing his assigned work duties, the report said.
Investigators also question at least $1,476 in fuel purchases Eaves made using school system funds while delivering food. On at least 44 occasions, Eaves purchased gas using his work-assigned fuel card while performing food deliveries, the report said. The investigators were unable to determine whether Eaves was purchasing gas for his company or personal vehicle.
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The investigation revealed Hamilton County Schools did not provide adequate oversight of Eaves’ duties, responsibilities, work hours and attendance. It also recommended district officials design and implement a process to reconcile gas purchases on a monthly basis to reduce the risk of it being misused or misappropriated, as well as create a policy that addressed reimbursement of accrued leave to suspended employees. District officials disbursed $7,683 to Eaves for his accumulated vacation and sick leave after approving his retirement request.
In a statement, district spokesperson Steve Doremus said the “proper stewardship of public resources is a core value and one of the highest priorities for Hamilton County Schools.”
“Based on the findings of that investigation, HCS has taken corrective actions to improve its processes and procedures for monitoring the use of district vehicles and fuel cards,” he said by email.
Contact Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.