Funds from company card allegedly funded Vegas trip

By Patrick Yost
Editor

Two days after an initial complaint was filed, a Buckhead woman was arrested on 23 counts of theft by taking charges and seven counts of financial card fraud charges in the alleged theft of more than $40,000.
According to Lt. Mark Williams, Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, Kerrie Wofford, 35, was arrested on Thursday, Sept. 13 and charged with the theft of money from a Madison-based timber operation.
Williams said Wofford had been hired by the company in February to manage its financial affairs. From February to September, Williams said, charges indicate that Wofford allegedly misdirected funds from the company for her personal use. Williams said that the financial transaction card fraud charges relate to the use of the company’s credit cards for her personal use, including a trip to Las Vegas.
“All the charges stem from her employment for the timber company,” Williams said.
Williams said Morgan County Sheriff’s Office employees and investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) allege that Wofford took “more than $40,000 and there may be additional charges.”
Wofford worked as a contract employee for the company. Williams said investigators are seeking other companies who have used Wofford for financial services to determine if the scope of the investigation would broaden.
“She had access to all of the financial accounts,” he said.
Wofford was arrested two days after county and state investigators launched the investigation. She was released from the Morgan County Detention Center on a $55,000 property bond the same day as her arrest.

Printed in the September 20, 2012 edition