The Oklahoma City Police Department investigated a former state employee, Heath Hayes, for embezzlement. Hayes has been charged with one count of felony embezzlement (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY – A former state employee was charged with embezzlement for allegedly stealing money from a foundation he helped oversee.
Heath Hayes, 40, of Oklahoma City, was charged in Oklahoma County on Monday with one felony count of embezzlement in excess of $1,000, according to court records.
Hayes, the former director of communications and deputy commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, is accused of embezzling $17,500 from Healthy Minds Healthy Lives while serving as a board member of the foundation that works to promote mental health in Oklahoma, according to an affidavit released by the mental health department.
Court records show that Hayes had not been taken into custody as of Wednesday afternoon and has a bond set at $3,000. He had no lawyer listed online.