The following is a press release issued by Demorest City Mayor, Rick Austin. The release follows Tuesday night’s decision by the Demorest Mayor and City Council to launch an internal investigation into more than $275,000 in missing money.
“The City of Demorest has terminated the services, as of wednesday morning (09/24/14), of an accountant/bookkeeper who previously provided services to the City. The termination is immediate and is based upon the learning that the accounting/bookkeeping services provided to the City of Demorest did not meet accepted standards and delayed the City’s discovery of fraud. The City has been investigating 2012 fraudulent activity for 13 months and now expands that investigation to include fraudulent activity in 2013.”
The bookkeeper who was fired is identified as Altea Muller. Demorest City Spokesman, Sammy Smith, says Muller was a contract worker hired from the Atlanta accounting firm of Muller & Partners, CPA. Smith says she worked at Demorest City Hall for the last four or five years. Now Habersham reached out to Muller at her Duluth office for comment but was unable to reach her. We will continue to bring you the latest developments on this story as they become available.
