It started, according to the indictment, with fake bills for car washes that never happened and ended with $222,223 stolen from Georgia taxpayers.
Authorities accuse Natasha and Devore Bray, who are married, of running the scam while the wife worked at the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice in DeKalb County.
The wife, a longtime employee, held various positions, but was over the agency’s vehicle budget in December 2014.
The indictment, announced this week by state Attorney General Chris Carr’s office, alleges:
The husband opened a bank account at Wells Fargo under the name Lowes Enterprises, which was the same name of a company that previously did work for the state. The wife then started paying the company for vehicle pressure washing and detailing.
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The services never happened, Carr alleges, but the wife paid for them through April 2017. In the process, the couple is accused of funneling $222,233 from the Lowes Enterprises account to the husband’s personal account.
The investigation began when a supervisor became suspicious.
The duo is now charged with racketeering. They were arrested earlier this week and released on bond, but couldn’t be reached for comment.
The attorney general said: “It is our responsibility to see that state employees discharge those duties ethically and honestly, and if they do not, we will hold them accountable.”
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