Fulton sheriff surrenders account used to make faulty investments

<p>Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett has surrendered control of an account she used to make questionable investments that led to a federal investigation and her decision not to seek re-election.</p><p>Barrett turned over the $3 million account to the county's finance department, county officials said Tuesday. The account holds funds generated by property sales held to pay off delinquent taxes.</p><p>Fulton County Attorney O.V. Brantley also indicated that Barrett may be willing to cede more control over the rest of the money she manages, which represents about $30 million in a dozen accounts, in addition to the $80 million she gets from the Fulton County Commission.</p><p>Barrett entrusted a Florida broker with $7.2 million last year, but auditors say she had no authority to do so. About $2 million of that was in a failed investment with Provident Capital Investment Inc. of Hollywood, Fla., which has not returned the money despite Barrett's demands.</p><p>The sheriff is scheduled to appear next week before a federal grand jury investigating the investments.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2867e68)</p>