The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - Some work-related records of the daughter of a state senator have been taken from a state agency, along with other records, in an investigation into allegations of embezzlement.

Stephanie Buford and C. Michael Haines, a lawyer for the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, which oversees the agency where Buford works, confirmed Wednesday that Buford's time sheets, travel vouchers and expense reports have been taken as Kentucky State Police and the cabinet's inspector general investigate the allegations.

Buford is the daughter of Republican congressional candidate and state Sen. Tom Buford of Nicholasville.

Stephanie Buford works in the Department of Financial Institutions' administrative services division. Last week, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said tens of thousands of dollars allegedly were stolen by Barbara Nash, director of the agency until she was fired Feb. 23.

Buford, 29, who makes $29,514 a year as an administrative specialist, said she could not offer much comment. She said she has not been told she is a specific target of the investigation.

"I have done nothing wrong that I know of," she said.

She added, "They do have my travel vouchers and all that. They're just making sure that everything is being done right."

Tom Buford said state officials, whom he would not identify, assure him that the half-dozen employees who worked with Nash all are being examined as a precaution, and his daughter is not an individual suspect.

"I don't think they have anything on her," said Buford, who is running in the May 18 primary for the 6th Congressional District.

"Apparently, they took everyone's records, or at least that's what my understanding is."

Cabinet spokesman Mark York and the state police declined to discuss the investigation's scope or targets.

Last Thursday, Fletcher held a news conference to announce that Nash, 61, was fired and suspected of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars through improper expense accounting.

Fletcher said a review of Nash's work records revealed questionable purchases with state funds, including a $200 gold bracelet, crystal candy dishes, decorative prints and neon clocks. Nash also appears to have used state funds to pay her personal credit card bills, the governor said.

Cabinet Secretary LaJuana Wilcher told reporters that other cabinet employees also are suspected of wrongdoing.