HOUSTON – Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector Carmen Turner and two other defendants have been indicted on federal charges in a case alleging county employees were paid with public funds for work they did not perform, including caring for Turner’s mother, according to a federal court document.
U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz announced the case Thursday alongside senior federal and state law enforcement officials.
The indictment alleges Turner hired employees through the Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office to care for her mother at her Houston apartment while they were paid as county employees. It also alleges Turner hired a man who was already working full time for an airline company in Chicago and arranged for some of his county pay to be transferred to her.
The indictment names Turner, Shemerrylyn Regina Fields and Victor Calvin Ewing as defendants. The charges stem from alleged conduct between September 2023 and September 2025.
What the indictment alleges
According to the indictment, Turner hired one employee in October 2023 as a deputy tax clerk and Fields in March 2024 for the same position. Prosecutors allege both were hired to provide care for Turner’s mother rather than perform their assigned duties at the tax office.
The indictment alleges the employees were instructed to clock in and out remotely while caring for Turner’s mother, who was described in the document as wheelchair-bound.
One employee allegedly continued reporting work hours while staying with Turner’s mother during a monthlong hospitalization in December 2023.
Ewing, the father of Turner’s adult son, was hired in October 2023 as a department coordinator with a listed pay rate of $36 an hour, according to the indictment. Prosecutors allege he was simultaneously working full time for an airline company at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and did not perform legitimate work for the county.
The indictment also alleges Turner and Ewing agreed that Ewing would transfer part of his county pay to Turner. In one cited transaction, Ewing allegedly sent Turner $800 through Cash App in February 2024.
Prosecutors further allege the defendants used false representations about their employment and work hours to obtain county payroll payments and benefits.
Federal charges against Turner and the other defendants
Turner, Fields and Ewing are charged with conspiracy. The indictment also includes theft-related charges involving a government program that receives federal funding and wire fraud charges.
The specific counts vary by defendant. Turner and Ewing are named in one theft count and three wire fraud counts, while Turner and Fields are named in three additional wire fraud counts. All three defendants are named in another theft count.
The indictment alleges the conduct involved payroll payments made between 2023 and 2025. It also states that federal prosecutors intend to seek forfeiture of property or proceeds connected to the alleged offenses if the defendants are convicted.
KPRC 2 will update this story with additional details from the U.S. attorney’s announcement.
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