Guilty Plea in Theft of Over $140,000 from City of Roswell

Long-Time Employee Karen Neely Stole City Court Funds over Two-Year Period

Atlanta—Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. (Atlanta Judicial Circuit) announces that, following her guilty plea to 55 counts of theft by taking by a government employee, Karen Neely (37) has been sentenced to 15 years (to serve one year in jail, with the balance probated). She was also ordered to make restitution to the City of Roswell in the amount of $23,713 and to Gallagher Bassett Services (an insurance carrier for the City) in the amount of $117,538. She must also complete 500 hours of community service within two years of her release from jail. During her probation, she may not travel outside of the state of Georgia, make any purchases over $500, or open any new lines of credit without the permission of her probation officer. She must also notify any future employers of her conviction. Her probation will be terminated upon satisfactory completion of all restitution and community service requirements.

Between May 1999 and August 2001, Neely stole $141,252 from the City of Roswell where she worked as a detention center manager. In that capacity, she was responsible for depositing the City Court’s bond money once a week at SouthTrust Bank and then forwarding copies of the bond and deposit receipts to the City’s Finance Office. (She had been a City of Roswell employee for over a decade.) Beginning in 1999, however, she would hold out certain bond receipts and the associated cash so that when she made a deposit, the receipts and cash would match. She would occasionally replace some of the stolen receipts in a later deposit with money from another stolen bond receipt, but she was never able to catch up. An audit ultimately confirmed the amount that was never returned to the bond account.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Peter Johnson prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the Roswell Police Department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Cameron Crandall of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit. Judge Jerry Baxter presided.

CONTACT: Erik Friedly, 404.224.0560 (office); 770.583.6069 (pager); erik.friedly@co.fulton.ga.us