A 38-year-old Hart County firefighter was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation after investigators found he was using fire station funds for personal purchases.
Nicholas Heard of Lavonia, a firefighter assigned to Shoal Creek Fire Station, is charged with five counts of felony theft by taking according to a press release from the GBI.
The release says the Hart County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI to investigate allegations of misuse of funds in a bank account in the name of Shoal Creek Fire Station on Dec. 28, 2020.
GBI and Hart County Sheriff’s Office investigators found over $3,000 worth of personal transactions from a bank account that was meant to be used for the purchase of equipment and supplies for the fire station.
The release says the money within the bank account was received from charitable donations and fundraising efforts of the volunteer firefighters.
The investigation is ongoing and will be turned over to the Northern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution, according to the release.
Anyone with information regarding the investigation can contact the GBI Region 11 Field Office at 706-552-2309. Tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-8477, online here or by downloading the See Something, Send Something app.
