Former Goochland County Treasurer Brenda Grubbs’ compulsive thievery of more than $180,000 in county funds was fueled by an Internet scam and her vulnerability to the charms of a man who called himself Bobby Johnson and who referred to Grubbs as “My Queen.”

“I would tell the doctor to take my life but I want you in my life and I know we share a lot in common … is that true?” the Nigerian-based swindler asked Grubbs in an email in February 2010, complaining that he wanted to die, he was in so much pain from being attacked and shot by thugs.

He needed money, he said, because access to his own healthy fortune was being blocked by the government; he wanted desperately to return home to Maryland from his native African homeland.

Johnson, whose email address is readily available on websites warning of Internet romance scams, was first in touch with Grubbs on Valentines Day 2010, but the exchanges between the two continued for another year.

Grubbs, now 54, was arrested this February as she prepared to send a $14,000 money order to Johnson, a fraction of the $100,000 of her and her husband’s funds she sent to Johnson and of the more than $180,000 in county money. On Tuesday, she was sentenced to 40 years in prison, all but four years of which was suspended.

In court last week, Grubbs’ husband of more than three decades promised his continuing and abiding love for her, and when defense lawyer James T. Maloney asked him how that could be, Gerald Grubbs said simply, “Because she’s my wife.”

A psychiatrist testified at the sentencing that Brenda Grubbs essentially lost her ability to reason after being prescribed an inappropriate mix of medications for depression and pain by doctors at a clinic in Chesterfield County.

Even Johnson’s terrible grammar seemed convincing to Grubbs, who Maloney stressed never took a dime of county money for her own use. Johnson wrote to her, “I want you to know is not my happiness and joy talking about money always and I believe once I am out of (Nigeria) I will refund all of the money back. … I notice you get upset easily,” Johnson wrote in February 2010.

Grubbs was energized by the joy she seemed to bring to Johnson and by the ease with which she took the money, Maloney said. “As with many offenses, success provides validation, which then breeds repetition.”

At first, Grubbs was hesitant to send money to Johnson but relented, setting in motion dozens of transactions that lasted a year. Then, early this year, she began to worry.

“I am not sending any more money,” she wrote Jan. 25. “I have put my job on the line along with family members and friends lieing about everything to where this money was going.” She threatened to withhold a $15,800 transfer.

Just days before her arrest, Grubbs realized that she was being watched: “I just think I am in a lot of trouble moving this money out. … You know all the trouble I have been having with Western Union and finding someone to sent this money and all the questions they have been asking.”

And then, on Feb. 2, Grubbs was caught in her office with money in hand — more precisely, it was stuffed in her sock.

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The fallout from the embezzlements helped undermine much of the Goochland County political infrastructure. While officials pushed for years to get Grubbs’ office in order in memos and audits long before the thefts, Grubbs held her ground, girded by the power of elected office.

To most county residents, Grubbs epitomized the essence of local government: a lifelong resident and churchgoer with slam-dunk victories at the ballot box. She had worked for the treasurer’s office some 20 years and was elected to the top post in 2003 and 2007.

But county officials expressed years of frustration dealing with the obdurate treasurer who was virtually untouchable as long as she remained electable.

The Grubbs imbroglio came in the midst of political unrest in the county.

Last month, three of four members of the Board of Supervisors up for election were voted out of office.

Grubbs’ convictions and details of her thefts added insult to injury. Her crimes, while not benefiting herself or her family, had victims. In an unusual twist, it was the county itself that filed a lengthy Crime Victim Impact statement with the court before her sentencing last week.

The report, which outgoing members of the Board of Supervisors said they have not approved or seen, was sealed by Goochland Circuit Judge Timothy K. Sanner. The Richmond Times-Dispatch last week objected and asked Sanner to unseal the document. As of Saturday, he had not responded to the request.

The victim impact statement apparently details costs associated with unraveling Grubbs’ thefts and the efforts undertaken by the county to restore order to the treasurer’s office; County Administrator Rebecca Dickson said last week that all of the money owed the county has been recovered through state insurance policies.

Dickson also provided a synopsis of the victim impact statement that shows damage to the county far beyond monetary figures. “Erosion of public trust” is listed as the priority impact, “the most damaging, the longest lasting,” according to an email last week from Dickson.

She noted $62,000 spent in staff time trying to cope with shifts in duties and backlogs of work. An additional $77,000 was spent by state officials dealing with the scandal, including the auditor of public accounts and the state attorney general’s office.

She said coverage of the Grubbs case has created image problems for the county and has had an “emotional and economic impact” on county employees,” one of whom voluntarily resigned from the treasurer’s office after being duped by Grubbs into wiring funds overseas.

“This has been a very difficult, sad time for Goochland County,” Dickson said in a statement. “On the positive side, we have a terrific new treasurer, and we are focusing our time and energy on moving forward.”

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Meanwhile, Maloney described the Grubbs family as virtually penniless. Restitution to the state is nearly complete through forfeiture of Grubbs’ retirement benefits and sold family assets, he said.

The last word from the elusive Bobby Johnson, which came to Grubbs just two days before her arrest, was thankful: “Just be calm,” he wrote at 8:57 p.m. Jan. 31. “You won’t regret doing all this for me and I will never let you down. … Sweet dream my princess. Bobby.”

Grubbs wrote back two hours later: “Somehow I feel like I am taking all the risk.”

Bill McKelway is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.