TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Greene County Commission has filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Jonathan "Joe" Benison seeking to recover nearly $5 million in public funds that state examiners determined were disbursed without adequate documentation.
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The 53-page complaint was filed Sunday, Sept. 28, in Greene County Circuit Court and names Benison in both his individual and official capacities.
The county is seeking $4,966,427.69, plus interest, along with an accounting of the Greene County Bingo Fund and an injunction restricting certain future disbursements.
The lawsuit stems from an examination by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts covering Oct. 1, 2018, through April 30, 2024.
The complaint says examiners initially charged Benison with $5.34 million in inadequately documented disbursements.
After Benison submitted additional evidence, the chief examiner relieved $370,383.08 of those charges, leaving $4.97 million due and unpaid, according to the complaint.
Among the questioned expenditures were more than $3.15 million in payments directly to employees in addition to salaries paid by the Greene County Commission.
Additionally, another $2.16 million in Bingo Fund disbursements included payments to consultants, attorneys, merchants, individuals, restaurants, hotels, automotive repair shops, gas stations and grocery stores.
The state examination also concluded that Benison failed to ensure Bingo Fund disbursements complied with the Alabama Constitution, finding that Greene County's bingo amendment authorizes the sheriff to regulate the licensing, permitting and operation of bingo but does not authorize other law enforcement expenses to be paid from bingo assessments.
The chief examiner fixed the unpaid charges at $4,966,427.69 on Sept. 17, 2025, and certified the matter to the Alabama attorney general and the district attorney for the 17th Judicial Circuit for collection.
The county alleges neither office had filed a civil collection action as of the filing of its lawsuit and that Benison has not paid any of the certified amount.
In addition to recovering the money, the commission is asking the court to require a full accounting of Bingo Fund receipts and expenditures dating back to October 2018 and to prohibit Benison from using the fund for salary supplements, bonuses, gifts, donations and certain professional or legal expenses not expressly authorized by the bingo amendment.
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