NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A former recovery court director in Tennessee faces seven felony charges after state investigators say she diverted thousands of dollars in funds intended to help people recover from addiction — and falsified documents to hide it.
According to an investigative report from the Tennessee Comptroller's Office, Julie Ann Odom served as director of the 13th Judicial District Recovery Courts from 2012 until she resigned on October 28, 2024. The program serves Putnam, White, Clay, DeKalb, Overton, Pickett and Cumberland counties, providing supervision, treatment and housing assistance to non-violent felony offenders with substance abuse issues.
"It's to help people in need coming out of an addiction, overcome that problem, get back on their feet," said John Dunn, director of communications for the Comptroller's Office.
Investigators say Odom authorized at least $8,600 in rental assistance for one program participant who lived with her. That amount included $7,675 paid directly to the participant and $925 paid to a landlord on the participant's behalf.
"The one individual who was living with the director actually received more than double the amount of assistance than any other person received," Dunn said.
The report found none of the locations for which Odom approved payments were licensed sober living facilities — a violation of recovery court policy, which requires housing assistance to be provided only to facilities that meet specific licensing standards.
State investigators also discovered that other participants in the district received rent assistance for non-licensed housing during Odom's tenure, though her case involved additional misconduct involving falsification of official records and a direct personal conflict of interest.
According to the Comptroller's investigation, Odom:
- Used an official recovery courts receipt book to create a false landlord receipt.
- Altered a rental agreement by replacing her own name with the participant's name so the participant could receive payments.
- Created an invoice with a false rent amount and no invoice number.
- Kept carbon copies of these forged receipts in her office.
"When someone is manipulating the system, funneling money to the person that she lives with, that's where I think the public might be concerned that taxpayer dollars are not being used the way they should be," Dunn said.
The investigation outlines a month-by-month timeline of these payments from April through October 2024, showing the misconduct was ongoing for months rather than a single incident.
"She fabricated invoices, she fabricated receipts, she purported that she wasn't on the lease when in fact it was her name on the lease and payments were made to the person she was living with," Dunn said.
On January 6, 2026, a Putnam County Grand Jury indicted Odom on seven felony counts:
- Three counts of official misconduct
- One count of theft of property over $2,500
- One count of criminal simulation
- Two counts of forgery
"So now this is up to the courts to decide whether, in fact, she committed these crimes," Dunn said.
The Comptroller's Office said the case began when a board member noticed questionable expenditures and reported the concern, prompting the investigation.
The full investigative report — including payment records and copies of alleged falsified documents — can be viewed here.
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