Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector Carmen Turner was arrested Thursday, Oct. 22, on federal fraud charges.
Prosecutors allege Turner used county payroll funds to pay a personal caregiver and a Chicago-based airline worker who never performed their county jobs. Turner, 65, of Richmond, faces nine counts including conspiracy, theft of government funds and wire fraud, according to a federal indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas.
The tax assessor-collector's office handles vehicle registrations and property tax collections for Fort Bend County residents, including those in Missouri City and Stafford.
Two co-defendants, Shemerrylyn Regina Fields, 47, of Rosharon, and Victor Calvin Ewing, 69, of Houston, were also arrested. U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz announced the arrests at a Thursday news conference alongside FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Jason Hudson and Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Erik Burse, as reported by KPRC 2.
Prosecutors allege the scheme ran from September 2023 through September 2025. Turner allegedly hired Fields as a deputy tax clerk in March 2024, but Fields instead worked full time as a caregiver for Turner's elderly mother at a Houston apartment while collecting a county paycheck, according to the indictment.
Turner also allegedly hired Ewing, the father of her adult son, as a department coordinator in October 2023. Ewing was already working full time for an airline at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, prosecutors allege. The indictment says Ewing collected Fort Bend County paychecks while in Chicago and transferred portions of his county pay back to Turner, citing an alleged $800 Cash App payment in February 2024.
Both Fields and Ewing were allegedly instructed to clock in and out remotely and log work hours they never performed.
"Under Turner's leadership, employees could literally just phone it in," Reitz said, according to the Houston Chronicle. "They'd call in in the morning, say they're at work, call in at the end of the day, say they're done, fill out a work log, filling in a bunch of fake nonsense about what they've been doing all day."
Reitz estimated the alleged losses at "tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars." The exact amount has not been determined.
The indictment also alleges Turner used Ewing's credentials to access WebDealer, a system county tax offices and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles use to process vehicle registrations. In one transaction, Turner allegedly entered a vehicle cost of $295,836.92 instead of $29,583.92, causing a significant sales tax error for a dealership, according to the DOJ.
An unnamed co-conspirator is cooperating with federal investigators, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Turner and Fields appeared before a federal magistrate judge Thursday afternoon. Fields was appointed a public defender. Turner said she had hired her own counsel, but that attorney could not be reached for comment, the Chronicle reported.
This is not Turner's first federal case. She pleaded guilty to contempt of court in December 2016 after prosecutors alleged she repeatedly filed for bankruptcy to delay foreclosure. She received a year of probation. Reitz said the prior case was unrelated to the current charges.
Turner won election as tax assessor-collector in 2020 and was re-elected in 2024. Her term runs through 2028.
Fort Bend County Judge Daniel Wong held a separate news conference Thursday. County officials called Turner's indictment and arrest "a stunning reminder of the cloud of corruption that has hung over Fort Bend County for too long," according to KHOU 11.
If convicted, each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison per wire fraud count and up to 10 years for theft of government funds.
