A former part-time government secretary in Winder who admitted to giving herself pay increases through forgery was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday in Barrow County.
Susan Peppers Hardy worked for the Oconee River Soil and Conservation District when she stole $29,000 between April 2006 and October 2009, state prosecutors said.
She admitted to a variety of forgery schemes, including changing the amount on paychecks made out to her and creating new paychecks with a forged name of the signer.
The fraud was discovered after an investigation into inconsistencies on monthly expenditure reports Hardy had prepared, prosecutors said. Bank statements that could explain the inconsistencies also were missing, prosecutors said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was also brought in to investigate.
Hardy, who pleaded guilty in Barrow County Superior Court on Thursday to 43 counts of forgery, must spend two of her 10 years in prison and the remainder on probation. She also must pay restitution.
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