Cobb school board member accused in civil case of $250K theft agrees to settle lawsuit
The vice chairman of the Cobb County Board of Education who was accused of stealing $250,000 from a business client in a civil racketeering case agreed to pay back most of the money, according to a court order signed Wednesday by a state judge.
John Cristadoro, a Republican who was elected last year to represent the East Cobb area, was accused of using money a client gave him for business purposes for personal use.
An Arizona-based life insurance company called Sagicor hired Alliance Activation, Cristadoro’s marketing company, to advertise its services at professional baseball and soccer games in Florida in 2023. Sagicor agreed to give Alliance $250,000 to pay for the advertising. But Alliance never paid for it, according to the complaint.
The civil lawsuit, filed in Fulton County State Court in March 2024, accuses Alliance, Cristadoro and another unnamed employee of fraud, breach of contract, racketeering, theft, conspiracy and negligence.
The parties agreed that Cristadoro authorized the use of the $250,000 to cover operating expenses and credit card statements that included “non-business transactions for Cristadoro’s personal benefit,” according to the consent judgment filed this week. Cristadoro and the other defendants agreed to pay back $225,000 and will be charged interest if any of the required payments are late.
Judge Wesley Tailor signed the consent judgment on Wednesday, after denying what he described as an “extremely rare” request to keep the document private.
Tailor sided with four Cobb County parents in Cristadoro’s district who filed a motion asking the court to keep the document public. Public interest outweighs the parties’ right to privacy, they argued.
Cristadoro used his business experience as evidence for why voters should elect him to the school board.
The homepage of his campaign website identifies him as the president and CEO of a “multimillion dollar business.”
“(Cristadoro’s) successful business background will enable our schools to look at issues from 300,000 feet up and provide wise leadership,” the site read.
When reached by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via email this week, Cristadoro said: “It’s a personal case from a personal business, both of which have nothing to do with serving students, other than being a target by those who are trying to tear down Cobb schools.”
The Cobb County Democratic Committee this week called for Cristadoro to resign from the school board, arguing in a statement that his “judgment cannot be trusted when it comes to handling taxpayer funds or transparency with the public.”
State business records show Alliance Activation, LLC was dissolved last month.
About the Author
Cassidy Alexander covers Georgia education issues for the AJC. She previously covered education for The Daytona Beach News-Journal, and was named Florida's Outstanding New Journalist of the Year.
