DAHLONEGA - The Lumpkin County Coroner was indicted this week by a grand jury on theft by deception and violation of oath of office charges.
According to the indictment, Ronald Fortner faces 18 felony counts of theft by deception and 18 misdemeanor counts of theft by deception. He also faces one felony count of violation of oath by a public officer.
According to the indictment, Ronald Fortner faces 18 felony counts of theft by deception and 18 misdemeanor counts of theft by deception. He also faces one felony count of violation of oath by a public officer.
"We're going to fight it. We feel we're right. We've got a good professional coroner's office up here. We're going to fight it and go to a jury trial, and I feel we'll be vindicated ," Fortner said.
Enotah Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jeff Langley said he couldn't say much about the case since it was pending prosecution.
"The 37 counts are somewhat misleading - it really involves 18 actions, but each action was charged in two different ways," said Langley.
Enotah Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jeff Langley said he couldn't say much about the case since it was pending prosecution.
"The 37 counts are somewhat misleading - it really involves 18 actions, but each action was charged in two different ways," said Langley.
Fortner allegedly violated his oath of office by deceitful means by submitting cases unnecessarily by filing invoices with the Lumpkin County Finance Office for payment, according to the indictment.
Each count alleges Fortner received $175 in payment for a total of $3,150. The counts alleged instances between August of 2013 and September of last year.
Langley said Fortner was indicted by a Lumpkin County grand jury with 22 participating members on Tuesday. He said his office has been working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for several months on the case.
"A GBI agent was the primary testifying witness at the grand jury," Langley said.
Region 8 Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Kim Williams confirmed her office was involved in the investigation, but Williams said she couldn't comment further since the case had been turned over to the D.A.
Fortner said the $175 payments are what his office receives for each coroner call. He said investigators looked at several coroner cases from his office, including 53 he said related to a convalescent center in Dahlonega.
"They (investigators) chose to say that 18 (calls) were not justified. Instead of sitting down and talking with us about it, they turned it over to the GBI. They came up and said that we overbilled the county for 18 cases, and so that's what the indictments are," Fortner said.
He said he wasn't surprised at the indictment and will remain in office.
"I don't have any intentions of resigning. I've had probably 400 or 500 calls from people concerned about it, wanting to make sure we stay in office, and that's what we're going to do," Fortner said.
On Wednesday afternoon, Fortner said he was still anticipating a judge to issue a bench warrant.
"We told them (investigators) up front that if we'd been paid anything, me or my deputies, that we're not justified for, then we'd be glad to pay it back, but they chose to go this route."
Fortner's arraignment is pending, according to Langley.
