Atlanta Cases Similar to Sept. Albany Fraud; Perpetrators Appear in Court

Officials in Albany, Ga. suspect that publicity in September about Dougherty County Public Works, Water and Light employees being arrested for fraud could have motivated Atlanta Water Department employees to follow suit.

Fifteen Dougherty County Public Works and Water and Light employees were arrested in September for insurance fraud. Some defendants are out of jail on bond, one of the seven city workers has been fired, and others are still on the job.

Investigators in Albany said they doubt the Atlanta cases are linked to the ones in Dougherty County.

“It’s entirely possible that it got out over the A.P. wires,” Sheriff’s Investigator Craig Dodd told the Atlanta Constitution. “I know what we were doing. I had people calling me from Atlanta asking me about it. It’s possible that the idea came up from what we uncovered down here.”

Two of 10 Atlanta city employees charged with filing bogus insurance claims have prior felony convictions, prosecutors revealed Friday at a first court appearance hearing.

Robert Coleman of Riverdale, a supervisor with the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management, was convicted of giving a false name in a financial transaction in 1992, forgery in 1993 and simple battery four years ago, prosecutors said. Coleman began working for the city in 1981, according to Janet Ward, spokeswoman for Watershed Management.

Sewer line maintenance worker George Givens of Atlanta, has been convicted of burglary and criminal damage to property. The date of his convictions was not disclosed. He was hired by the city in 1991, Ward said. Information on time served and details of Coleman’s and Givens’ crimes were not available.

Fulton Magistrate Mike Wallace denied bond for Coleman and Givens, but granted bonds of $40,000 on the insurance fraud counts for each of the seven remaining defendants that appeared in court. A 10th defendant is hospitalized.

State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine said the workers filed false claims for $50,000 to $60,000 in disability benefits. More than $40,000 was approved for seven of the employees before insurance carrier AFLAC became suspicious and began denying payment. Some city workers received as much as $10,000, said Oxendine.
Workers claimed their injuries were sustained by falls or from being hit by a baseball bat, Oxendine said.

The city does not conduct extensive criminal background checks on sewer workers.

“We weren’t aware of either man’s convictions until today. It’s City of Atlanta policy if a person has paid their debt to society not to hold that against them in hiring or employment,” Ward told the Constitution.

Commissioner of Watershed Management Robert J. Hunter agreed. “It’s a constitutional issue; there has to be a reasonable linkage with their job duties,” he said.

The employees have been put on administrative leave with pay, Hunter said. Investigators will try to determine whether a suspension without pay or firing is warranted, he added. The defendants face a bond hearing Nov. 10.

Coleman’s attorney, Jennifer Hanson, said after the hearing that the denial of bond for her client was too severe.

“People are released on bond every day who are charged with violent crimes. My client’s forgery conviction was for a nonviolent crime 12 years ago,” she said.