A federal grand jury indicted Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector Carmen Turner and two others over an alleged scheme involving county payroll, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced Oct. 22. The indictment alleges that, from 2023 to 2025, people were paid with county funds for work they did not perform; prosecutors also allege that Turner used another defendant’s credentials to access a vehicle-registration system. The Texas Tribune independently reported the charges and described the prosecutors’ allegations. The defendants have not been convicted. The Justice Department stresses that an indictment is a formal accusation, not evidence, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Sources: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas: justice.gov source ↗ ; The Texas Tribune: texastribune.org source ↗