In an ironic moment, the person put in charge of reconciling purchases made on county credit cards in Georgia was the person who was misusing his own county-issued credit card, using it to buy lottery tickets from the Georgia Lottery and other personal items.
The case against the employee
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia, William Harold Richards, 51, was in charge of reconciling purchases made with Glynn County purchasing cards.
However, authorities discovered he was misusing his own county-issues credit card while purchasing lottery tickets and other personal items.
According to officials, Richards was hired by the Glynn County Department of Public Works in 2010. During his time with the department, he progressed his way up to a supervisory role that provided him with access to employee purchasing cards and the county's billing system.
In September 2023, another Public Works employee noticed suspicious charges on his county purchasing card, so the Glynn County Police Department and the FBI started an investigation.
The investigation
During that investigation, authorities said they found Richards made multiple fraudulent purchases on his own county-issued card. He was also making fraudulent purchases on other employees' cards during the course of a two-year period.
Also, during that time, Richards made payments from the county to a fake company he created. He would then transfer those funds from the county to his own bank account.
Richards entered a guilty plea
Richards was initially arrested on state charges but was later indicted in federal court.
Now, Richards pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges. As part of that guilty plea, Richards admitted that he “used the proceeds of this fraudulent scheme to make numerous personal purchases, including the purchase of lottery tickets.”
The sentencing
After entering his guilty plea, a federal judge sentenced Richards to 30 months in federal prison for wire fraud. He was also ordered to pay the county $422,168 in restitution for misusing his county card, authorities said.
U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg said:
Taxpayers rightly expect employees of their government agencies to handle public money responsibly. William Richards did the opposite by defrauding taxpayers and enriching himself at their expense, and he is being held accountable for his crime.
In a statement, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Keri Farley said, “This type of fraud increases costs for all taxpayers in this country and erodes public trust in government.”
Richards will serve 30 months in prison, and then he will serve three years of supervised release after his time behind bars is finished, officials said.
He is still facing state charges of theft by conversion.
Not a first in Georgia
The state of Georgia is not new to employees being arrested for lottery schemes. In May 2024, the GBI said Michael Jerome Kessler Sr. reportedly convinced at least three lottery retailers with coin-operated machines regulated by the Lottery Corporation to pay him in exchange for a passing grade on their inspection.
Kessler was arrested and charged with bribery after he allegedly accepted three $2,000 payments from the stores. His case is still pending.
Enjoy playing the Georgia Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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