For Immediate Release:
September 9, 2022
For press inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Indictment and Arrest of Etowah County Attorney John Davis McCord
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the indictment* and arrest of Etowah County attorney John Davis McCord, 63, of Gadsden, on four counts of first-degree theft of property, two counts of tax evasion, and two counts of subscribing to false statement. McCord turned himself into the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office Thursday without incident and was released on bail.
The Attorney General’s Office Criminal Trials Division sought an indictment of McCord after an investigation conducted by the Rainbow City Police Department, Gadsden Police Department, and Alabama Department of Revenue. The indictment charges McCord with the theft of more than $2,500 from four different victims in Etowah County, with attempting to evade state income taxes in 2017 and 2018, and making a fraudulent return or statement related to state income taxes in 2017 and 2018.
If convicted, McCord faces a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and a $30,000 fine for each of the four counts of first-degree theft of property, which are class B felonies, and a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment and a $100,000 fine for the two counts of tax evasion and two counts of subscribing to false statement, which are both unclassified felonies under Alabama law.
McCord’s wife, Susan Rollins McCord, was also indicted* on one count of first-degree theft of property for her involvement with her husband in one of the victim’s cases. She remains on bail pending the resolution of her case.
No further information about the investigation or the alleged crime may be released at this time as this is an ongoing investigation. If you should have any information about this case, or Mr. McCord, please contact the Gadsden Police Department at (256) 549-4500.
*An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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