Type to search

CEO May: ‘A fraud has been committed using my name’

Metro ATL

CEO May: ‘A fraud has been committed using my name’

DeKalb County CEO Lee May. Photo provided by Reporter Newspapers.
Share
DeKalb County CEO Lee May. Photo provided by Reporter Newspapers.

DeKalb County CEO Lee May. Photo provided by Reporter Newspapers.

Interim DeKalb County CEO Lee May says someone has committed fraud, but it isn’t him.

May sent out a press release a day after WSB-TV revealed that he is the subject of a FBI investigation. The TV station reports that May is being investigated for work performed at his house in 2010 after sewage overflowed into his home. May was a commissioner at the time and was later appointed to replace suspended CEO Burrell Ellis after Ellis was himself indicted on corruption charges.

According to WSB-TV, taxpayer money covered the cost of the repairs at May’s home. For the full story, click here.

“A contractor came to my property to remove the sewage and repair the damage,” May said in the press release. “It has come to my attention that I received expedited treatment by county staff regarding the payment to the contractor for fixing the damage. This information was news to me.  I neither had any knowledge, directly or indirectly, of special treatment, nor did I request any. 

“The county did issue a check of $6,400 directly to the vendor in June 2011.  During that same month, the reporters revealed that a check of $4,000 was written by the contractor to my name and cashed into a bank in North Georgia.  Let me be very clear:  I did not receive this check.  I did not cash this check.  I did not receive any funds from this check.  The endorsement signature on the back of this check is not mine. Thus, it appears that a fraud has been committed using my name and my position.”

May said he reported the “illegal activity” to the proper authorities, including the FBI, GBI and the District Attorney’s Office.

“Also, the contractor subsequently won a contract with DeKalb County in the amount of $300,000 in 2011,” May said. “I supported the staff’s recommendation to approve the contract due to the fact that it was the lowest bid though a competitive process.  Nevertheless, in light of all the other circumstances, this is disturbing and I have asked the county’s Purchasing Director to review this matter and determine if any laws or rules were violated. 

“I have no tolerance for any illegal or unethical conduct in my Administration.  I am determined to do everything in my power to reform DeKalb County, root out corruption and malfeasance, and restore the public’s trust.”

[poll id=”5”]

Tags: