Former Lakeview Town Clerk Indicted on Felony Ethics Violation

The former town clerk of Lake View was booked in the Tuscaloosa County Jail this week after a grand jury indicted her on two ethics violation charges earlier this year.

Lake View is a town of around 3,000 residents that sits on the eastern edge of Tuscaloosa County just before crossing into Jefferson County.

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Court documents filed in Tuscaloosa County that were obtained by the Tuscaloosa Thread Thursday allege that the former clerk, Crystal Sellers, illegally used the town's equipment to issue herself at least one paycheck that she later cashed.

The grand jury indicted Sellers in January and a writ was issued for her arrest. Sellers seems to have been taken into custody in Florida late last month and was not booked in the Tuscaloosa County Jail until Wednesday -- it was not immediately clear why her arrest came so long after her indictment.

Sellers, who is 42, was formally charged with two counts of using an official position or office for personal gain. One count was filed as a Class A misdemeanor. The second was filed as a Class B felony.

Sellers was booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail on Wednesday she has since been released on a $5,000 bond.

The accusations against Sellers are the latest in a long line of controversies in Lake View, and they follow the August 2020 resignation of former Mayor Paul Calhoun, who pleaded guilty to an ethics violation himself.

The indictment filed against Sellers did not indicate when her alleged crimes took place or the size of the check or checks she reportedly wrote herself. Tuscaloosa County District Attorney Hays Webb was not immediately available to comment on the case.

Stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread for updates on this case if and when they become available.