Fulton County employees accused of $183,000 theft

By Marcus K. Garner

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Four Fulton County employees are accused in an internal report of using a county credit card and other means to steal more than $183,000 in taxpayer money, documents show.

Fulton County Police Capt. Darryl Halbert said Tuesday his department is in the preliminary stages of investigating the report. "We haven't received all the information and we don't have any names," he said.

The four employees in question, all women, were still working and only recently reassigned to other positions once the report was leaked to media outlets, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The county's office of professional standards, after it supplied the report, was discontinued.

And two other employees -- a deputy county manager and professional standards investigator -- said they were wrongfully fired and demoted, respectively, because of their involvement with the report, and their attorney said they are considering legal action against the county.

Fulton County Manager Zachary Williams did not respond to repeated AJC requests for an interview, but in a Monday news release confirmed the existence of the investigation, which he said was at risk of being compromised because of the media leaks.

In his news release, Williams also addressed the potential lawsuit, saying, "Any personnel actions involving the plaintiffs in this case occurred prior to the date that the July 27th investigative report was received and the ongoing investigation had no bearing on the personnel actions taken."

The investigative report, prepared by since-demoted Maria Colon, devoted 1,039 pages to the four employees' questionable activities, which were said to have cost the county $183,194.37 over six years.

E-mails were highlighted that detailed spending $14,351.64 for unauthorized Wal-Mart gift card purchases from 2005 to 2007. Purchases were made for clothing, jewelry, video games, furniture, bedding, patio furniture and music compact discs that were delivered to the addresses of the women.

The report showed that one of the employees in 2005 asked another to buy a “Letter to Mom” pendant and poem from Wal-Mart’s website. “Order this for me,” the woman's e-mail said. “Personalize to say -- Love, [the woman's name].”

“The figure does not include any gift cards that [the woman's name] might have been used directly at the store or given to friends and family members for their use,” Colon wrote in her report. “This amount might be significant, since [the woman's name] had the ability and authority to purchase, activate and distribute the gift cards for various programs within the Department of Human Services.”

One exhaustive online receipt dated in September 2009 showed that a woman bought 965 gift cards at a cost of $24,125 and had them shipped to her Fulton County office.

That gift-card purchase was just a portion of the $168,842.73 reportedly spent on the county credit card between September 2007 and January 2010.

Colon’s investigation recorded evidence of only online purchases, but suggested there might have been more unauthorized purchases from Wal-Mart. The report also showed that employees created invoices for a bogus Georgia company to account for expenses, which included the purchase of equipment for a side business.

Through their attorney, Gwendolyn Warren, the deputy manager, said she was fired for reporting the ongoing fraud, while Colon, the investigator, said she was demoted and her office was closed because of her involvement. They have alleged they were punished, in violation of Georgia’s Whistleblowers Act, for failing to delay the release of the investigative findings until after the November elections.

“Warren was never given any reason,” said James Bradford, the women's attorney. “The only reason given to her was that certain commissioners wanted her gone that day.”

David Ware, an attorney representing Fulton County, questioned the validity of Warren's and Colon's claims. "I tend to be cautious about jumping to conclusions based upon allegations in a demand," Ware said, referring to the lawsuit threat.

Colon said she forwarded her findings to the office Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. On Tuesday, a district attorney's office spokeswoman said the information had been sent to Fulton Police.

Warren was not available for comment following back surgery and Colon declined to an interview citing fear of reprisal, Bradford said.

District 5 County Commissioner Emma Darnell, contacted Monday, declined to comment on the personnel moves or the closure of the office of professional standards.

The county's office of professional standards, operating for two years, was closed in July after Bill Edwards, commission vice chairman, had asked in a meeting whether the department was necessary. Edwards did not respond to an AJC interview request.

“We never should have abolished that office,” said District 4 County Commissioner Tom Lowe, who said the action made him angry. "They were doing an excellent job.”