A former Middle Georgia county employee was arrested Wednesday after allegedly stealing more than $60,000 worth of government funds.
Denise Lucas, 37, of Roberta, faces a felony theft charge in both Crawford and Peach counties, the GBI said in a news release. She was an employee of the Crawford County Board of Education for 15 years.
On June 6, Roberta police requested the GBI investigate the possible embezzlement of board of education funds, the release said. The missing funds were discovered two days earlier during preparation for a budget meeting, Macon-based news station WGXA reported.
The investigation found that Lucas allegedly stole the money by moving it into a different school account and then withdrawing the funds in cash the following day, the news station reported. Superintendent Brent Lowe told WGXA that Lucas resigned the same day he learned about the stolen money.
She said she was unhappy with the superintendent and felt she wasn’t being properly paid for her work, but Lowe said she’d recently been promoted to payroll and benefits coordinator, the news station reported.
The alleged embezzlement took place over 2½ years, the GBI said.
Lucas was charged with theft by taking in Crawford County and theft by receiving in Peach County, both of which are felonies, the release said. Each charge is punishable with between two and 20 years in prison.
She was booked into the Crawford County jail. The GBI’s investigation is ongoing.
Roberta, which is in Crawford County, is about 30 miles southwest of Macon and about 85 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.
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