Ex-DeKalb Commissioner Boyer’s sentence begins

Former DeKalb County Commissioner Elaine Boyer reported to a federal prison camp in Florida today to begin serving her 14-month sentence for defrauding taxpayers of more than $100,000.

Boyer, who represented a 140,000-person district in North DeKalb for 22 years, will serve her time at the federal correctional institution in Marianna, Fla., according to court records. She'll be held in a minimum security section of the facility.

She must complete at least 85 percent of her sentence, which means she’ll likely be imprisoned for nearly a year.

Under an agreement with prosecutors, Boyer pleaded guilty in September to charges that she engineered a kickback scheme with a consultant to funnel money back to her. She also admitted using her county Visa card for personal purposes to pay for items including family airfare and a ski resort booking.

Boyer’s plea deal required her to cooperate with prosecutors in their ongoing investigations of DeKalb County, and she was ordered to pay $87,300 in restitution to the county.

Her husband, John Boyer, also has pleaded guilty to his involvement in their scheme. He's scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 19.