On Thursday, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced that eight former Georgia state employees have been indicted in Fulton County for allegedly submitting false claims and weekly certifications to the Georgia Department of Labor (DOL) to receive unemployment insurance benefits when they were employed by the State of Georgia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Government employees are entrusted to operate honesty and ethically, and those who do not will be held accountable,” said Carr. “We will not hesitate to pursue any individual who works for our state and seeks to illegally obtain public funds for their own personal gain. We are committed to protecting taxpayer dollars no matter the amount, and this type of fraud will not be tolerated.”
The defendants were charged with:
James Neville:
- 19 counts of False Statements and Writings (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20)
- 2 counts of Violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-256)
La-Kira Williams:
- 14 counts of False Statements and Writings (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20)
- 2 counts of Violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-256)
Denice Vance:
- 10 counts of False Statements and Writings (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20)
- 2 counts of Violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-256)
Divincia Richardson:
- 10 counts of False Statements and Writings (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20)
- 1 count of Violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-256)
Willie Jones:
- 10 counts of False Statements and Writings (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20)
- 1 count of Violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-256)
Tamika C. Goodwin:
- 8 counts of False Statements and Writings (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20)
Curesha Blair:
- 5 counts of False Statements and Writings (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20)
Regina Sterling:
- 3 counts of False Statements and Writings (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20)