FLOWERY - Flowery Branch Accounts Receivable Clerk, Maria Arevalo, 44, and former police department clerk, Lynn Crawford, were recently arrested and charged with theft by taking, according to the city.
In an e-mail statement from Flowery Branch Mayor Mike Miller, he said Crawford is accused of stealing approximately $2,000 of city funds. That money was discovered missing following an audit after her resignation in August. Flowery Branch police handled that case, because Crawford was no longer working for the city.
Because she was still employed by the city, Hall County Sheriff's Office investigators handled the Arevalo case at the request of Flowery Branch Police Chief David Spillars. Arevalo was arrested Friday, accused of stealing about $22,000 from city deposits over a four month period. City officials have recovered $3054.
"Those alleged thefts took place between May 23 and August 16, 2012. They involved the handling of daily deposits of city revenue," Hall County sheriff's Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks said.
According to Miller, those stolen funds were discovered by new finance director Jeremy Perry.
Miller said the two cases are not related. According to Miller, both women admitted to stealing the city money.
"The arrest of these individuals is disappointing in that both were considered trusted employees. We are however thankful that our professional staff in the Finance, City Administration and Police Departments were able to discover these incidents and resolve them in a timely manner. We would also like to thank the prompt and timely assistance of the Hall County Sheriff's Office," Miller said in his statement.
Wednesday
April 24th, 2024
1:45PM
