Former Bristol County Deputy Sheriff Admits to Violating Conflict of Interest Law

A former Deputy Sheriff in the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office has paid a $40,000 civil penalty and $25,000 in damages for violating the conflict of interest law by auctioning a seized modular home to his wife.

The State Ethics Commission said Floyd Teague conducted a public auction in which he placed an absentee bid on behalf of his wife for the seized home, and then awarded it to her. She renovated the home with his help and sold it for a profit.

The commission said Teague signed a Disposition Agreement in which he admitted to the violations and waived his right to a hearing.

READ MORE: Floyd Teague's Disposition Agreement

“When public employees in the exercise of their official authority act to enrich themselves and their families rather than to serve the public interest, they betray the public’s trust and undermine their fellow citizens’ confidence in the integrity of public service and government institutions,” said State Ethics Commission Executive Director David A. Wilson. “The conflict of interest law strictly prohibits such misconduct.”

In March 2023, an attorney for a homeowners association contacted Teague to handle the seizure and auction of an unoccupied modular home to cover the past-due fees owed by the then-owner to the association.

Floyd posted a Notice of Order of Sale that announced the auction and that $5,000 in cash or certified check, payable immediately upon completion of the sale, was required to participate in the auction.

He then discussed the sale with his wife and agreed to place a $20,000 on her behalf. She did not provide the $5,000 in cash or via certified check.

“At the auction, which about a dozen people attended, Teague announced that bidders needed a $5,000 certified check to participate and that the auction floor was the $18,542 in past-due fees owed to the homeowners’ association,” the Ethics Commission said.

“Teague then announced he had a $20,000 bid and declared, ‘going once, going twice, sold for $20,000,’ concluding the auction. Sometime after the auction, Teague’s spouse gave him a $20,000 bank check, which he turned over to the Sheriff’s Office’s Civil Process Division,” the commission said.

Teague then assisted his wife in renovating the modular home and its grounds, as she spent about $44,000 on contractors and supplies. Then in October 2023, she sold the home for $309,900.

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“The conflict of interest law prohibits state employees from participating in matters in which they or their immediate family have a financial interest. Teague violated this prohibition by agreeing to place his spouse’s bid, by conducting the auction when he knew his spouse was bidding on the modular home, and by awarding her the home,” the commission said.

In addition, by not requiring his spouse to produce $5,000 in cash or certified check to participate in the auction, Floyd violated the conflict of interest law’s prohibition against public employees using their official positions to secure valuable unwarranted privileges for themselves or others,” it said. “Teague’s violations were to his economic advantage.”