A former attorney will spend two years in prison for stealing nearly $340,000 in government funds and then lying about it under oath.
Carla B. Gaines, 61, was disbarred in November after authorities learned she stole money given to her by Clayton County’s government for the purchase of a property. The money was supposed to be placed in an escrow account and given to the owner of a College Park convenience store in exchange for an easement or right-of-way through the property, prosecutors said.
Instead, the Mableton attorney kept the money, spending it on herself and using it for her law firm’s expenses, authorities said.
After stealing the funds, Gaines lied to Clayton County officials and the company that owned the property, leading them to believe she still had the money and that payment was on the way.
According to prosecutors, the scheme began in 2014, when Clayton’s government agreed to purchase the right of way for $712,400. Gaines was hired as the escrow agent for the transaction and given the money until the sale was finalized.
The deal closed in November 2015 and Gaines paid $375,000 to Kelete, the company that owned the gas station. Under the agreement, she was required to keep the remaining $337,400 in escrow until Kelete made adjustments on the property. It completed that task in March 2016, and requested the rest of the money.
“Gaines repeatedly made false representations to Clayton County and Kelete about whether she had the money and whether payment was on the way,” prosecutors said in a news release. “Gaines falsely claimed that the wire was ‘pending,' that the wire was ‘stuck,' that she had a check ready for Kelete, (and) that she was ‘awaiting a call from the bank.‘”
At the time, Gaines had far less than $337,400 in her bank accounts, and Kelete sued the attorney for the rest of its money.
During the civil proceeding, Gaines lied in two depositions, once March 2017 and again in June 2018. In those depositions, she said she accidentally paid a portion of Kelete’s funds to another client, a pastor, and that he promised to return the money. Those claims were false, authorities said.
“Gaines stole over $300,000 in client money and then repeatedly lied about it, including twice under oath,” U.S. Attorney BJay Pak said in a statement.
The former attorney recently pleaded guilty to theft from a local government that receives federal funding. Gaines was sentenced to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $330,900 in restitution.
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