Five people, including a northeast Georgia county commissioner, have been arrested following a monthslong racketeering investigation, according to the GBI.
Hart County Commissioner R.C. Oglesby, 65, is facing 10 counts of shoplifting and two counts of racketeering, the state agency said Thursday in a news release.
Oglesby was first elected commissioner in 1989, according to a biography on the county's website.
Hartwell police officers, Hart deputies and Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office agents executed multiple search warrants at locations in Hartwell, including a home in the 400 block of Winding Way, another in the 1300 block of North Forest Avenue and two locations in the 2100 block of Anderson Highway.
It’s not clear what triggered the investigation, which yielded an undisclosed amount of cocaine and marijuana.
“It was also determined that EBT card fraud was being utilized to defraud the state of Georgia,” the GBI said.
When Oglesby was arrested, officials found a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program card in his wallet that was not registered to him, the Hartwell Sun reported. SNAP, as the program is called, is the formal name for food stamps.
“What it was is basically buying a card from someone that its assigned to for so much on the dollar,” Hartwell police Chief Anthony Davis told the newspaper.
Oglesby’s children, 41-year-old Stephen Oglesby and 28-year-old Monique Oglesby, were both arrested in connection with the investigation. Stephen Oglesby is charged with three counts of racketeering, and Monique Oglesby faces one count.
Stephen Oglesby also possessed a stolen gun at the time of his arrest, the Sun reported.
Oglesby’s daughter-in-law, 38-year-old Amy Oglesby, was arrested on 10 counts of racketeering. Another woman, 21-year-old Dasia Oglesby, faces one count of racketeering.
All five people were taken to the Hart County Jail.
We’re working to learn more.
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