HOUSTON, Texas — Carmen Turner, who collects taxes for Fort Bend County, was taken into custody in the Houston area Thursday on federal charges that she filled county jobs with people who never did county work, the office of U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz announced at a news conference in Houston.
Reitz said Turner hired Shemerrylyn Fields as a tax clerk but had her spend her time caring for Turner’s elderly mother, who uses a wheelchair and lives in a Houston apartment. A second caregiver, who is not named in the indictment, is cooperating with federal investigators. Prosecutors also accused Turner of hiring Victor Ewing, who fathered her adult son, for a coordinator post while he was living in Chicago and holding a full-time job at the city’s main airport.
Fields and Ewing were charged as well, and prosecutors say all three falsified timesheets to cover the scheme. Turner is charged with conspiracy, theft tied to programs funded with federal money and wire fraud. Prosecutors want forfeiture of any proceeds but have not put a dollar figure on the alleged losses, and Reitz said his office is ready for trial.
The inquiry grew out of allegations raised last year about two women on the county payroll who were looking after Turner’s mother. Investigators with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office ran the early inquiry, and the FBI later joined the federal case. Reitz said the November election played no part in the timing.
Turner, a Democrat first elected in 2020, won reelection in 2024 and does not face voters this year. Her office continues to operate. Interim Fort Bend County Judge Daniel Wong, a Republican seeking a full term, said the arrest deepens a loss of public trust in county government, which was shaken this year when former County Judge KP George was convicted. Each defendant is expected to make a first appearance before a federal magistrate in the coming days.
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