Ledford Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

Clay County Sheriff's Office

Press Release

On 12/01/25 Krystal Dawn Ledford, 39 years of age from Hayesville, pleaded guilty in Clay County Superior Court to two counts of felony Embezzlement. On each count, Ledford was sentenced from 6 months to 17 months in the N.C. Department of Adult Corrections. The second count was to run consecutively to the first count. These sentences were suspended. Ledford was placed on Supervised Probation for 60 months under regular terms and conditions. Additional conditions of Ledford’s probation required that she pay restitution in the amount of $11,295.02 the Clay County Government, that she does not serve as a trustee on any account of another person, and that she surrenders all N.C. law enforcement related credentials.   

Back in September of 2021, an independent audit was conducted of inmate commissary funds at the Clay County Detention Center. During this time Ledford served as the Captain over the Detention Center. As a result of this audit, then Clay County Sheriff Bobby Deese requested an independent criminal investigation to be conducted by the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation (NC SBI). As a result of this NC SBI investigation, Ledford was arrested on 05/31/24 on four counts of felony Embezzlement by Public Official/Trustee and four counts of felony Access of Government Computer to Defraud.

Attorney Jordan Ford, N.C. Chief Financial Crimes Resource Prosecutor, was assigned the prosecution of Ledford and negotiated the two felony pleas on 12/01/25. During his summary of a factual basis for these pleas, Ford told Superior Court Judge Tessa Sellers that these crimes occurred under the prior Clay County Sheriff’s  administration, that safeguards have since been put in place to prevent future crimes like this from happening, and officials with the Sheriff’s Office cooperated fully with  the investigation since the discovery of the embezzled funds.