Former FBI Special Agent Jonathan Gilliam told FND that Russell may be on the hook for portions of the cost of the investigation, which he says likely surpasses $100,000.
“You know, you’re looking at dozens of man hours plus the fact that somebody could get wrongly convicted or killed or, you know, so the cost and the safety of it adds up very quickly.”
He said that the amount of money Russell will be forced to pay back depends on her income level.
“If she works at some kind of a massage therapy place, you know, she’s not making enough money to pay all that stuff back. So she may get a fine, but it won’t be enough to pay back the man hours that were used,” Gilliam said.
Jefferson County Chief Assistant District Attorney Lane Tolbert told FND on Thursday that police are seeking to charge Russell with false reporting to law enforcement authorities and falsely reporting an incident, both of which are misdemeanors and carry a maximum punishment of one year in jail.
When asked when charges would be filed, Tolbert said “we are just advisors.”
Carlee Russell could be on the hook for at least part of the cost of the law enforcement investigation into her disappearance which ended up being a hoax, according to a former FBI agent.
nypost.com