Auditors have discovered an additional $53,661.21 missing from the City of Demorest. Now the city is launching its own internal investigation into where the money went, how it was taken and who took it.
After spending two hours behind closed doors in executive session Tuesday the Demorest Mayor and Council unanimously voted to launch an internal investigation to determine the “person or persons” responsible for stealing more than a quarter of a million dollars from city coffers over the last several years. Before the vote, Mayor Rick Austin read a resolution stating that the Clarkesville accounting firm of Duncan and Kitchens had uncovered $53,661.21 missing from the books for fiscal year 2013. Previous audits uncovered $222,000 missing in 2012. That brings the total of missing Demorest city funds to $275,661.21.
The resolution passed by Council Tuesday also states that, “…the City of Demorest has concluded that the loss of city money in the years 2012 and 2013 is not due to computer or human error…” It goes on to state that “…the City of Demorest has evidence that fraudulent activity by one or more persons is the only explanation of the missing city money.” The resolution invokes section 2.16 of the city charter entitled “Inquiries and Investigations.” Demorest will conduct an internal investigation subject to the city charter and, if needed, engage law enforcement agencies in its investigation.
The call for an internal investigation comes on the heels of a forensic audit by the GBI that was launched last year. While he refused to release many details, Austin did say the city’s internal investigation will be run in conjunction with those already underway. Austin says, “We will not stop until we find those who are responsible for the taking of the city’s money.”
