While an earlier investigation into allegations that Uintah County Clerk-Auditor Mike Wilkins concealed payments and falsified documents did not recommend Wilkins be removed from public office, a second investigation completed earlier this year came to the opposite conclusion. Uintah County Commissioner Brad Horrocks filed the 2021 complaint resulting in the Weber County Attorney’s Office conducting an investigation. In May of 2021, the Weber County Attorney issued the findings to Uintah County Attorney Jaymon Thomas, concluding in a 5 page report that he did not believe there was sufficient evidence to determine whether an unauthorized payment had occurred or been ordered. Convinced of wrongdoing, Commissioner Horrocks filed a complaint in 8th District Court to have Wilkins removed from office which the court then forwarded to the Uintah County Attorney. This led to the second investigation into the allegations. In April of 2023, law firm Kunzler, Bean & Adamson issued the findings of their investigation in a 50 page report, concluding that they “believe that the evidence indicates, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Mr. Wilkins has engaged in conduct that meets the standard of ‘high crimes, misdemeanors and malfeasance in office,’” which wording comes from Utah’s Code regarding the removal of an elected official from office. Among other claims, the report’s Summary of Conclusion states that “Mr. Wilkins concealed from County Commissioners voluntary payments by the County to the Utah Retirement System of nearly $3.4 million dollars and falsely certified that such amounts had been approved by the County Commission. Mr. Wilkins personally benefited from these payments in the amount of $75,987.17,” according to their investigation. The report also made four additional claims about Wilkins’ actions that they say, when all combined, meets the standard set forth in Utah Code 77-6-1 for removal from office. In a Fox 13 report, Wilkins’ response to the investigation is that the Commission had paid for the answer they wanted. As of yet, no action has been taken on a state or local level in response to the investigation’s recommendation. Evans Family Media reached out to Uintah County Attorney Jaymon Thomas on Wednesday for a comment and had not received a response at the time this story was submitted on Thursday.
