District Attorney Announces Guilty Plea in White Collar Case

Alpharetta Office Manager Gets 30 Years for Theft of Almost $200,000 from Employer

Atlanta—Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. (Atlanta Judicial Circuit) announces that, following her guilty plea, Sally Peta (51) has been sentenced to 30 years (three of which are to be served in prison with the balance on probation) for the theft of nearly $200,000 from her employer. She must also make restitution of $191,000 and adhere to numerous special conditions while on probation. Peta pleaded guilty to three counts of theft by taking.

Peta was employed as the office manager for a Ryder Truck Rental company in Alpharetta and stole from her employer from sometime in January 2000 to sometime in March 2002. She created a fake vendor account for a company controlled by her brother (and for which she did accounting work) and issued checks to the company, usually in the amount of $2,500. Once the money was deposited into the company account, she would write checks to herself, cash others, and deposit others into her own bank account.

The defendant claimed in court that she stole the money under duress and only because her husband made her do it. She said that he repeatedly raped and sodomized her and forced her to steal the money—all in order to support his drug habit. However, evidence showed that checks were made out to and endorsed by her and, further, that others were also endorsed by her daughter and deposited into the daughter’s bank account.

Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney Brad Malkin of the White Collar Crime Unit prosecuted the case. Joey Thurman and Tom Rumble of the White Collar Crime Unit investigated, and Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane presided.

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