Dyersburg man convicted of embezzlement

JACKSON, Tenn. — A Dyersburg man has been convicted of embezzlement after prosecutors say he stole at least $178,000 from a trust account.

Brian Black, 42, was convicted of embezzlement Friday after a two-week trial in federal court, according to a release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.

According to information presented in court, Black embezzled at least $178,000 from the trust account of Oleen H. Fewell Estate. Black was the Chancery Court appointed trustee for the trust, which had been set up by the will of Fewell for benefit of her daughter, Sharon Connor of Alamo, according to the release.

Black faces a possible maximum sentence of 90 years imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 18.

Black was the former 911 director for Crockett County.

Instead of using the trust’s money for the benefit of Connor, Black spent a large part of the trust’s funds for his own personal benefit, according to the release.

Prosecutors say Black wrote over $70,000 in trust checks directly to himself, spent almost $6,000 of trust money to take a vacation trip to Florida to attend the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team fantasy camp, and used over $12,000 of trust money to buy items for his own home in Dyersburg.

By the time United States Postal Inspectors learned of the fraud and began an investigation, Black had spent all of the money in the trust account, according to the release.