Man accused of selling land he doesn't own

AUGUSTA - An Augusta man tried to make $30,000 by selling land to county officials he didn&#39;t own, police said. <br> <br> John E. Williams, 65, was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony theft by deception and giving false statements. <br> <br> Williams told Probate Court officials in 1997 that three of his relatives had died, leaving him sole heir to 3 1/2 acres of land in Hephzibah, said Anita Hopson, an investigator with the Richmond County Sheriff&#39;s Office. <br> <br> In June, Williams sold the land to the Richmond County Board of Education for $30,000 to be used as a drainage field for Hephzibah Elementary School, officials said. <br> <br> The property was once owned by Williams&#39; grandmother. The heirs, who are in Ohio, say they had no idea what was going on in Augusta. <br> <br> They claim they found out their property had been sold when they drove through Augusta on the way to Florida for vacation. <br> <br> It remains unclear what the legal fallout for the school board will be. <br> <br> Pete Fletcher, attorney for the board, told The Augusta Chronicle that the school system is under no obligation to give the property back. <br> <br> Hopson disagrees. <br> <br> ``The board of education, in my eyes, bought something that was not legally the seller&#39;s (to sell),&#39;&#39; she said.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/5/194387