The Georgia Attorney General’s office this month closed an investigation into Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor, on allegations of extortion, without attempting to prosecute.
The investigation began in September 2020 when Anytime Bail Bonding sent the office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation a 30-second surveillance video clip of Taylor saying, “If folks don’t support me, I’m not gonna let them bond here,” while he was running for sheriff in 2019. Anytime Bail Bonding and two other companies also sued, alleging Taylor shut them down because the owners did not donate to his campaign.
In a memo the Attorney General’s office released to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Deputy Attorney General John Fowler said there is no recording of the conversation before or after Taylor’s statement.
“The State acknowledges that Taylor’s recorded statements are concerning and warranted investigation,” Fowler said in the memo. “However, given the above reasons, and given that a thorough GBI investigation uncovered no additional evidence, it is my opinion that the State cannot prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. I recommend closure of this matter without presentation to a Grand Jury.”
Taylor has said he shut down some bail bond companies after taking office because they were in financial trouble or did not meet his standards.
“Sheriff Taylor has consistently maintained his innocence,” his office said this week in a statement. “Sheriff Taylor remains resolute in his commitment to upholding transparency, not only for himself but also for the entire Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office.”
Taylor settled two years ago with Anytime Bail Bonding. The company changed its name in Gwinnett to ABC Bail Bonds and owner Scott Hall agreed not to work in the county.
Hall is one of the election skeptics implicated last year in allegations that supporters of former President Donald Trump breached election data in rural Coffee County. An election security lawsuit against Georgia includes a recorded phone call in which Hall said he and others copied data and ballots there.
Two other bail bond companies, The Bondsman and A-Action, sued Taylor in Gwinnett County Superior Court. A judge dismissed The Bondsman’s case, but the Georgia Court of Appeals this year overturned the dismissal and remanded the case back to the lower court. A-Action’s case is also ongoing, court records show.
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