The man serving as interim Chief Financial Officer for the city of Shreveport has had several run-ins with the law over the past dozen years.

KEEL News has been provided with documents outlining the past criminal history for Kasey Brown. He has been accused of illegal possession of stolen things, criminal mischief and driving under suspension.

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In one of the cases, Brown was suspected of possessing a stolen cell phone. The charge was ultimately reduced to criminal mischief and dismissed.

In 2017, Brown was in trouble again. Details of that arrest have not been released, but he did notify the court that he was indigent and a public defender was appointed to represent him. The charge against Brown was dismissed.

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Brown is in charge of the city's budget which is closing in on $600 million dollars. His resume shows he is not a CPA, nor is he an accountant.

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Brown is paid close to $140,000, but the recent pay raise approved by the council would bump his pay to more than $155,000 dollars.

KTBS also reports Brown has had a dozen traffic violations in Shreveport, and was sent to jail in 2009 for failing to appear in court. That was on charges of driving under suspension and running a stop sign.

The council withdrew Brown's name to be permanent Chief Financial Officer this week.
But Mayor Perkins did send KTBS a statement of support for Brown:
Mr. Brown ... has shown exemplary performance, which has led to his current promotion. His work was recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. And the finance department was awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. Mr. Brown continues to show honorable character and integrity in his service to the City of Shreveport.
There is no indication if the city did a background check on Brown before he was hired as Assistant Chief Administrative Officer in 2019. He was elevated to interim CFO last year.
A former worker in the Finance Department claims illegal activities in the department. Ben Hebert says he refused to sign off on improper travel reports. He claims he was fired by Brown in December after he blew the whistle on this activity.
State Legislative Auditor Michael Waguespack tells KEEL News he has gotten several complaints of possible wrongdoing and will be talking with the Mayor, the management team and others about possibly conducting an audit of the Finance Department.

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