State Court of Appeals Judge Christian Coomer improperly transferred almost $22,000 from his former state House campaign account into his law firm and personal checking accounts, a state ethics complaint alleges.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Coomer’s lawyer strongly condemned the charges.
According to the complaint, the transfers were made between April 2015 and January 2019, including in some months when his former law firm appeared to need cash infusions. The filing includes copies of bank statements that show many of the transfers made from Coomer’s former campaign account and deposits into his law firm account.
The complaint also alleges that Coomer failed to disclose those expenditures from his former campaign account on disclosure forms required to be filed by political candidates and their campaign committees.
Under state law, elected officials can only use campaign contributions to run in elections and maintain their office. They cannot use the money for personal expenses unrelated to a campaign or anything that would enrich themselves or their businesses.
“This is a classic example of the commission staff shooting first and asking questions later,” said Johns Creek attorney Doug Chalmers, who represents Coomer. “In this case, their complaint gets both the facts and the law wrong.”
Coomer’s campaign, law firm and personal banking accounts are held at the same bank, and the wrong account was occasionally accessed when doing transfers online, Chalmers said. “When the error was caught, a reverse transfer was done promptly ... in most cases the same day or within 24 hours."
Chalmers said Coomer has ordered a complete and comprehensive review of his campaign records and will address any issues that are found.
“In the interim, we will vigorously defend him against any baseless or false allegations,” he said.
This is not the first time this year Coomer has found himself in legal trouble. He has been under criminal investigation involving fraud claims made by a man Coomer represented when he was a private attorney.
The ethics complaint against Coomer involves “campaign finance activities which occurred during his time in the state House of Representatives,” said David Emadi, executive secretary of the state ethics commission, formally known as the Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission. “His case remains under active investigation, and as such we have no further comment at this time.”
Coomer, who once had a Cartersville law practice, was elected to the Legislature in 2010. He was House majority whip in 2018 when then-Gov. Nathan Deal appointed him to the Appeals Court.
The ethics complaint, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through the Open Records Act, said Coomer moved $15,520 from his House campaign account to his law firm accounts between April 15, 2015, and Jan. 31, 2019.
The records attached to the complaint show that several times during that period, Coomer’s law firm ran low on funds.
In March 2017 and June 2018, the firm’s bank account dipped into the red by $41.28 and $38.33, respectively, records show. Coomer’s House campaign account transferred $2,200 to that law firm account on March 7, 2017, and $3,500 on June 6, 2018, according to bank records attached to the complaint.
The ethics complaint also alleges Coomer made $6,400 in improper transfers from his campaign account into personal checking accounts between Oct. 25, 2016, and Sept. 7, 2018.
In March, Jim Filhart, 78, sued Coomer, contending Coomer took advantage of him. In 2018, the lawsuit said, Filhart gave two loans totaling $289,000 to a holding company controlled by Coomer and with terms extremely unfavorable to Filhart.
One of the loans, for $159,000, was to be paid off in 30 years when Filhart would be 106 years old, if he lived that long. Coomer also prepared a will for Filhart that would have given Coomer access to nearly all of Filhart’s estate, the suit said.
After the lawsuit was filed, the GBI began investigating the allegations. That probe is ongoing, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said Tuesday. The state judicial watchdog agency is also investigating Coomer.
Coomer, who strongly denied allegations of fraud, has paid back the loans in full, said Filhart’s lawyer, Wright Gammon. In July, Coomer settled the lawsuit filed by Filhart under terms that remain confidential.
The base state pay for a member of the Court of Appeals is about $175,000 a year. As a state lawmaker, Coomer was paid $17,341 a year for what is considered a part-time job.
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