Ex Fort Bend Jailer Faces Federal Embezzlement Charges

RICHMOND, TX — A retired Fort bend County detention officer is facing federal theft charges after authorities said he pocketed nearly $300,000 in federal benefits paid to his deceased uncle over a 20 year period.

Burnie Joseph Haynes, 67, faces charges of theft of federal funds, and is accused of taking approximately $286,000 from his late uncle’s bank account.

Haynes, who retired earlier this month from the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office, was in federal court on Tuesday.

According to a Houston Chronicle report, Haynes was the signatory with power of attorney over his uncle’s bank account.

Haynes’ uncle, Joseph McKinley Wells was honorably discharged and retired from the U.S. Air Force in April 1967 after a 20 year career.

Wells began receiving monthly retirements checks to his Bank of America account via direct deposit.

Wells died in March 1996 at Houston’s VA Medical Center, leaving no heirs or benefactors.

The pension checks from the Department of Defense should have ceased when Wells died, but they continued to be sent to his bank account until May 2016.

As a result, Haynes is charged with embezzling those funds,and cold be subjected for forfeiture by the federal government.

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