Embattled Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas is scheduled to be arraigned July 24 on Davidson County charges related to an inmate labor scheme the state said benefitted the sheriff and his businesses.

The sheriff was arrested last week in Gibson County on a sealed indictment charging 18 counts of misconduct after officials say he used inmates for personal gain. A Davidson County grand jury returned an indictment against Thomas on May 2 on four counts because the charges related to Tennessee Department of Correction inmates, Tennessee comptroller spokesperson John Dunn said.

He was also arrested in Davidson County on a sealed indictment last week.

More: FBI confirms search warrant issued for Gibson Co. Sheriff Paul Thomas’ home, other locations

After being booked into both jails, Thomas was released on $25,000 bond in each county.

In his indictment, Thomas is accused of using inmates for labor to benefit Alliance Staffing Group in Milan, Tenn., a hiring program catering to incarcerated individuals created by Thomas and others.

Alliance Staffing Group and its sister company, Orchard House Transitional Home, were among the locations under search by the FBI in 2022. Investigators said the offenses Thomas is accused of committing occurred from May 1, 2022 through Oct. 31, 2022.

Thomas won re-election in August 2022.

His arraignment in Gibson County was initially scheduled for Sept. 16 but it has subsequently been moved to July 10 after a switch in judges hearing the case, according to the Gibson County Clerk’s office.

Gibson County Mayor Nelson Cunningham has not returned calls seeking comment.

Allegations leveled against Thomas, as detailed in an investigative report from the state comptroller’s office include:

• In 2020, Thomas and a group of local investors created three for-profit businesses known collectively as the Alliance Group.

• The three businesses provided staffing assistance to local businesses, housed current and former inmates at a transitional home called Orchard House and provided transportation to work release inmates and former inmates traveling to and from work.

• Thomas directed a little more than $1.4 million in inmate wage fees and deductions to profit the Alliance Group from February 2020-October 2022, and at least 170 inmates in Thomas’ custody were employed by the Alliance staffing agency during the investigation.

• Thomas, who held a 20% ownership interest in Alliance, received more than $181,000 in compensation, payroll benefits and legal representation services from the businesses, which the investigation claims came through inmate labor.

• Thomas allowed 74 Tennessee Department of Correction inmates held in the Gibson County jail to reside at Orchard House without proper approval from a judge. The sheriff is accused of continuing to show the jail as the inmate location in the state’s offender management system, which resulted in the county collecting $507,273 in reimbursements from the state department of corrections that were disbursed to Orchard House without the state agency’s knowledge or consent.

• Thomas directed $448,637.09 of wages earned by inmates working for Alliance to be deposited into a private account owned and controlled by the Alliance Group instead of having their wages deposited into an inmate trust account.

Gibson County officials have indicated that they have corrected or intend to correct deficiencies raised in the investigation, the comptroller’s report notes.

Reporter Sarah Best contributed to this story.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Arraignments set for Tennessee sheriff facing 24 charges in 2 counties