Ex-COO for County Contractor Faces More Charges

The ex-finance chief at the center of a criminal debacle involving a former county contractor is facing three new felony charges, including for allegedly forging a $105,000 invoice to the county. 

Ex-Harm Reduction Coalition Chief Operating Officer Amy Knox, who appeared in Superior Court early Monday after being released from jail after a family member posted bail late last week, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. 

The three new allegations from District Attorney Summer Stephan’s office involve fraudulent tax returns, two stolen trips that were meant to be auctioned off to support an addiction recovery nonprofit that Knox until recently helped lead and a falsified invoice that the county paid out. 

The charges come two months after Knox was initially accused of six felony misappropriation charges for spending public money on everything from plastic surgery to purebred dogs. The case has spawned a slew of questions about the county’s oversight of two contracts held by the small nonprofit to distribute an overdose reversal drug and check illicit drugs for deadly fentanyl. 

Attorney David Silldorf, who is representing Knox, declined to comment on the new charges but cheered Superior Court Judge David Berry’s Friday decision to grant the former nonprofit executive’s release. 

“We are pleased to have secured what we see as the first — among what we hope to be many more — wins for our client,” Silldorf wrote in an email. “To be sure, this is a big deal for Ms. Knox who has been in custody since February.” 

Deputy District Attorney Matthew Dix argued against Knox’s release on Friday, noting that new charges bring Knox’s alleged financial crimes to more than $400,000 in total losses.  

Because Knox was not at the Friday hearing, Berry opted to focus on her proposed release and whether Knox’s attorneys could prove her $500,000 bail was met without the use of potentially feloniously obtained funds – rather than the additional charges.  

Knox was released from county jail on Friday, more than two months after she was booked. 

She appeared in court for a second arraignment early Monday beside two new attorneys and spoke softly in response to the judge’s questions. 

During the hearing, Dix detailed the new charges and Knox’s criminal history as he argued for strict release conditions. 

The prosecutor noted that Knox was previously sentenced to four years in state prison for embezzling more than $500,000 from a family member’s business and said Knox’s aunt reports she has paid little of the $650,000 in restitution her family is owed. 

Now, as the District Attorney’s Office investigation continues, Dix said his team is uncovering new alleged crimes. 

In one instance, Dix said, Knox forged an invoice for fentanyl test strips, fraudulently reporting purchases to the county that she claimed totaled $105,000, which the county paid out. 

County spokesperson Tammy Glenn said could not elaborate on an ongoing prosecution but that the county “continues to coordinate with the District Attorney’s office investigation.”   

Glenn also noted that the county encourages county staff, contractors and others to report concerns about waste, fraud or abuse to the county’s Ethics Hotline or the district attorney’s public integrity unit. 

Dix alleged that Knox also submitted fraudulent tax forms for herself and her husband, evading taxes they owed. 

Knox, who until recently served as board president of the Crossroads Foundation, also stands accused of taking two trips to Montana that she had secured to be auctioned off at the county residential treatment contractor’s annual Pasta & Jazz fundraiser for herself.  

“Instead of putting them on the auction block, she took them herself,” Dix said. 

In a statement, the Crossroads Foundation wrote that an external auditor pointed to an invoice that Knox had submitted listing vacations to be auctioned off during the group’s 2024 fundraiser.  

“After a deeper review, it was discovered that only one trip listed in the agreement was promoted and auctioned at the event. Knox, however, reported to the distributor that three trips had been sold, listing two family members as donor recipients,” Crossroads spokesperson Candice Reed wrote in a statement.  “This impropriety was reported to the authorities right away. We are fully cooperating with the District Attorney’s Office on this matter and will continue to do so.” 

Reed also said that the nonprofit is working closely with the county’s behavioral health department to ensure it meets “all contract and auditing requirements” and that it remains confident in financial protocols that uncovered the issue. 

“Our primary focus remains on our important mission and the women we serve,” Reed wrote. 

After Knox pleaded not guilty to the new charges on Monday, Dix argued Knox could continue to commit crimes absent strict release conditions.  

In recorded jail calls, he said Knox said her husband could run the business they once ran together but that she’d direct him on what to do upon release. Dix also noted a situation he’s trying to piece together involving $450,000 in unaccounted for funds tied to a New Mexico contract brokered by Knox’s company. 

“She’s just such a risk to the community for financial detriment,” Dix said. 

Judge Berry ultimately agreed to bar Knox from operating any businesses, using electronic devices and knowingly possessing stolen property, fake invoices or others’ identification information. Berry also ordered Knox to hand off her U.S. passport to her attorneys and noted she’d be subject to potential searches by law enforcement without a warrant or probable cause. 

Gary Gibson, another attorney for Knox, agreed to those conditions. 

“Those conditions as stated would be acceptable,” Gibson said. “The question is, where’s the line between earning a living and following the court’s conditions?” 

Berry said Knox can work but not run a business. 

“I believe we worked out reasonable conditions,” said Berry, noting that prosecutors will be watching closely for potential violations. 

Knox is set to appear in court again in June.