Ward 1 Councilmember Austin Ball pleaded not guilty to charges of misdemeanor embezzlement and false certificate by a public officer.
Outside Cleveland County Special Judge Cory Ortega’s chambers, Ball told OU Daily he has not yet hired a lawyer, but said he was narrowing down his choices.
“I’ve interviewed a few attorneys, had quite a bit of interest wanting to represent this,” Ball said.
In January, charges were filed against Ball following an investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. The investigator, Adam York, found that Ball, and his wife Kayla Ball, had allegedly misspent campaign funds and filed falsified campaign finance reports.
“Based on this investigation, York believed Austin (Ball) embezzled campaign funds for personal use and filed two false documents with the Norman City Clerk, claiming that a dental visit was a campaign expense and omitting Kayla (Ball)’s unauthorized expense,” the affidavit reads.
According to the affidavit signed by York, improper spending included: $255 at Dental Depot for the extraction of an infected tooth, purchases at Walmart, payments to T-Mobile and loan payments to LoanMart.
Ball denied the accusations and questioned the timing of the charges which were filed on Jan. 30, just under two weeks before the Feb. 11 City Council election in which Ball was seeking reelection.
“Just like the (district attorney) is doing by holding this case for the last year, coming to me 10 days before an election,” Ball told OU Daily shortly after learning of the charges.
In a statement to Fox 25, Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn refuted Ball’s theory.
“I’ve never heard of Austin Ball before OSBI presented their case to us. His claim of some sort of retaliation is false and without merit,” Mashburn said.
Ball ultimately lost his bid for reelection to David Gandesbery, who received 64.78% of 1,235 votes. Ball received 23.81%.
Ball is due back in court on March 26 at 1:30 p.m.
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Peggy Dodd.
