A former Cumming police officer is facing federal charges after he allegedly searched a police database in exchange for money.
Nathan VanBuren, 34, was indicted June 29 by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud and computer fraud, U.S. Attorney John Horn said. The former officer allegedly accepted the bribes in 2015 from someone he had arrested in Cumming.
VanBuren and the arrestee had additional communication after the arrest, Horn said. VanBuren allegedly asked the arrestee for a loan, saying that his wages were being garnished and he had debt because of his son’s medical expenses.
However, the officer’s salary was not being garnished and his son was not ill, Horn said. The arrestee reported VanBuren’s actions and agreed to cooperate with law enforcement.
The arrestee gave VanBuren $5,000 in response to the officer’s repeated requests for money, Horn said. The arrestee also asked whether VanBuren would search a sensitive police database to determine whether an individual was an undercover police officer.
In exchange for $1,000, VanBuren unlawfully accessed the law enforcement database and provided the results to the arrestee, Horn said.
The officer resigned before he was fired by Cumming police, Horn said.
“Investigations into allegations of public corruption involving police officers is a disheartening, but very necessary duty of the FBI,” spokesman J. Britt Johnson said. “People have a right to demand that their public safety officers possess integrity and a sense of fairness as they carry out their duties.”
VanBuren was arraigned before a U.S. magistrate judge.
Cumming police and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office helped with the investigation, Horn said.
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