TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Aug 8, 2025

Jason Dobbins, former director of operations for the Knox County Trustee’s Office, was charged Aug. 8 with two felony counts of official misconduct in connection with a wide-ranging investigation into whether some elected officials and their employees used their public positions for personal gain. The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury spent months investigating the misuse of taxpayer dollars in some Knox County offices. Dobbins is the second county employee charged in the probe. Trustee Justin Biggs fired Dobbins in April for “policy violations” after Knox News reached out with questions about the investigation. Prosecutor Ryan Desmond sought approval from a grand jury to prosecute Biggs as well, but the grand jury declined to indict him on Aug. 6. On Aug. 7, Property Assessor Phil Ballard was charged with one felony count of official misconduct related to his personal use of a county-owned SUV while also accepting reimbursement for using his personal vehicle for work travel. The newspaper reports on the developments.