DALLAS — Former Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway is in federal prison for taking bribes, but now the high-profile inmate is among several who had their jail money stolen.
County Commissioner J.J. Koch said they might not have figured it out if Caraway hadn't been involved.
“You think, but for this high-profile individual we would not have found out about it ever,” said Koch.
Koch told WFAA that the commissary accounts at the jail were hacked by another inmate and the funds were taken a couple of months ago. It happened when Caraway was transferred to the county jail for a few weeks from a federal prison in Big Springs, where he is serving his time.
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“It was an individual that had plenty of time around the commissary process. They were able to try a bunch of passwords and eventually they were successful,” Koch said.
No one will say for sure how much money was taken.
WFAA filed an open records request for more details, but the sheriff's department issued WFAA an email, saying they had no documentation or further information.
Koch said the company that runs the commissary accounts, Securus, did replace the money and promised tighter security.
The sheriff's office has implemented more safeguards to try and keep it from happening again.
"The long and short of it. There is no such thing as an un-robbable bank,” Koch said.
Earlier this week, the Dallas County Commissioner's Court approved a new contract with Securus, which also operates inmate phone calls.
The commissioners said they are confident the problem has been fixed but will keep a watchful eye.
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