Court dates set for former Fort Gay officials

By Roberta Cantrell
BSN Editor

A pretrial and court date have been set for former Fort Gay Mayor Joetta R. Hatfield and former Treasurer/Recorder Sheila K. Bowen who were recently indicted by a Wayne County grand jury for their roles in embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds, the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office said Monday.

Hatfield and Bowen, both entered pleas of not guilty in Wayne County Circuit Court on Tuesday morning, July 14.

Both women are named in a nine-count indictment charging them with embezzlement, fraudulent schemes, conspiracy, falsifying accounts, and computer fraud and the criminal acts happened from Feb. 2017 through Feb. 2025 and will be tried together since the indictment charges that the criminal activity was conspired by both.

“Hatfield and Bowen used their positions to issue unauthorized vendor and payroll checks, overcompensate themselves for leave, withdraw cash, and adjust utility payments, all for personal benefit,” the release from the state Auditor’s Office stated. “Investigators estimate Hatfield embezzled approximately $245,000, while Bowen embezzled about $127,000.”

According to the release, both women “manipulated the town’s books and computer systems to hide their fraud and misrepresent the municipality’s financial condition.

If convicted, they each face substantial prison time and restitution.”

Hatfield and Bowen’s pretrial date is set for Sept. 26, at 9 a.m., with their trial set for Oct. 6, at 9 a.m.