11/03/2026
ts been more than 10 months since the City of Smithville became the victim of a cyber security scam in which $425,000 through a wire transaction for the purchase of a 2014 fire truck in Texas was intercepted and stolen.
When the theft was discovered last December, the city administration of then Mayor Josh Miller made the public aware of the incident in a statement to the local media along with the investigation that had been started to get to the bottom of it.
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Although the probe has been on-going in the 10 months since with rumors of possible indictments coming, nothing official has been disclosed by authorities in charge of the investigation and city officials have apparently been advised by them to say very little about what they know, if they know anything about the inquiry. The city reportedly has not recovered any of the stolen money to date, and while the city has a cyber security insurance policy which might cover a portion of the loss, there has been no insurance recovery pending the outcome of the investigation
During Monday night’s monthly meeting of the mayor and aldermen, Steven Cantrell, a city property owner and now 5th district county commissioner, asked that an update be provided the public on the case. According to Cantrell, some people have the mistaken notion that the stolen money was for the purchase of a county fire truck, instead of a city fire truck for Smithville
“When will the taxpayers receive an update on the TBI investigation that's going on in relationship to the theft in Texas, of the money that was transferred for the purchase of a fire truck," asked Cantrell. "The citizens haven't heard anything in a while. As one who has conducted investigations that were very sensitive in the past, I understand the need for security on certain types of investigations. especially if they possibly might hit home, but what I would like to know and what the citizens would like to know, at a convenient time in the future, not necessarily tonight, is where are we on that investigation? I think the perfect people who can come in here and do that for us, is if the city council were to invite TBI to come in and brief it, because then, if TBI is briefing it there's no concern about stuff that you all may have been briefed on, that you are not allowed to share with us. I raised that as an interest item, because people, for some strange reason, still think that this was for a county fire truck, and I have been asked, as a county commissioner, about what the county is doing with that and I have to remind them, it is the city, and it's under investigation. I have not received any information, or any other citizens, since this administration took those chairs,” said Cantrell.
Following Cantrell’s remarks Mayor Beth Chandler then turned to City Administrator Hunter Hendrixson for any updates
“I don't know what we're allowed to say or not allowed to say. I need to get with the TBI before we release any information. There's several other states involved. There's more people involved that they're looking at so I need to talk to the TBI before we do anything publicly,” said City Administrator Hendrixson.
Alderman Todd Cantrell then asked, “ Can we put that on the agenda for next time just to discuss where we are and whether that was able to be accomplished or not, whether the TBI was able to be contacted?”
“ I can get with our TBI contact and see what we can and can’t do,” replied Hendrixson
“I think if they (TBI) could send a representative, that’s a great idea. I'd like to know more”, said Cantrell.
Last fall, the city aldermen voted to purchase a 2014 fire truck from Cypress Creek, Texas for $425,000. The truck was intended to replace the city’s 2001 model fire truck.
On Friday afternoon, December 19, 2025 in his office at city hall then Mayor Josh Miller, accompanied by City Administrator Hunter Hendrixson, and City Attorney Vester Parsley met with the local media and issued the following prepared statement on what happened.
“The city was working with a vendor in Cyress Texas to purchase a used fire truck for $425,000. Unknown to city officials, it appears an unauthorized party gained access to email communications and used this access to fraudulently redirect a legitimate payment intended for the vendor. The city immediately initiated an internal review and notified the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, our insurance provider, local prosecutors, and law enforcement, including District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Cybercrime Investigations Squad”.
“As part of the City of Smithville’s commitment to transparency and accountability, we are informing the public about this cybersecurity incident involving a business email compromise (BEC) that targeted the city’s financial operations. We are working diligently with investigators and financial institutions to recover any lost funds and to identify the individuals responsible”.
“What we know is that this attack involved impersonation of a trusted vendor through email. There is no evidence citizen data or personal information was compromised. The city is working to implement additional security measures. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to ensure a thorough investigation. We have filed an insurance claim in accordance with the provisions of our city’s insurance policy”.
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