An arrest warrant released Friday shows that former Georgia Board of Regent C. Dean Alford attempted to get money for his company through phony invoices for work never performed at the University of Georgia, but also the state’s military college and area businesses.
Alford turned himself in to authorities and was released on bond, officials said Friday, on charges he filed false paperwork and forged a university employee’s signature to try to get about $2.2 million for his energy company.
Authorities filed two arrest warrants Thursday for Alford, 66, prompting his forced resignation after seven years on the influential 19-member board that governs Georgia’s largest public colleges and universities.
Alford, who lives in Conyers, charged with racketeering and for criminal attempt to commit theft by taking, was released on $25,000 bond for each charge from the Rockdale County Jail. Telephone calls to Alford went unanswered Friday.
Alford allegedly gave Versant Funding, a Florida-based business, purchasing agreements and fraudulent invoices for work he said was done by his company, Allied Energy Services LLC. Versant is a financial services sector that specializes in “factoring,” a financial transaction in which a business may sell its accounts receivable to a third party at a discount and pay a fee when the money is collected.
Officials said Thursday the invoices were for work Alford claimed his company did for the University of Georgia. The arrest report says there were also three invoices for Georgia Military College, two for Synovus and one for Inman Solar Inc., based in Atlanta. The invoices were sent between Sept. 20 and Oct. 1, the arrest report says.
Alford tried to “deceive” Versant into believing he “had legitimate purchase agreements and accounts receivables with various entities,” the report says.
A Georgia Military College spokesman referred questions to the state Attorney General’s Office. A Synovus spokesman declined comment Friday. A telephone call to Inman Solar was not immediately returned. A spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office said it had no new information about the case Friday afternoon.
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The charges against Alford surprised many in state government and politics. Gov. Brian Kemp reappointed Alford to the Board of Regents in July. Kemp has not announced a replacement for Alford, who represents Georgia’s 4th Congressional District on the board. The district includes portions of DeKalb, Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale counties.
Alford’s company, Allied Energy Services, works on permitting, financing and construction of solar, waste to energy and other projects. Alford has said it is responsible for over $5 billion of energy projects in Central and North America.
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