Texas county official wants resignations after $525K scam

The top elected official in a South Texas county says two officials should resign for failing to protect the county from an electronic payment scam that totaled more than $525,000.

An outside review determined that no individual Galveston County employee was to blame for the loss of money. But Galveston County Judge Mark Henry said Monday that auditor Randall Rice and purchasing agent Rufus Crowder should be held responsible.

The county discovered the theft in June involving a scammer who was pretending over email to represent a Houston construction company scheduled to repair roads. County officials unknowingly made an electronic payment of more than $525,000 to the scammer’s account.

Both Rice and Crowder say they have no intention of resigning.

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