Was there a ‘cover-up’ in Columbus Finance Department? Criminal investigation seeks answer
A criminal investigation into the Columbus Consolidated Government Finance Department is not about theft, an official told the Ledger-Enquirer.
The district attorney’s office assigned to the case, which stems from concerns that Columbus could have suffered great financial loss due to unprocessed business and alcohol licenses, said the investigation is more focused on whether problems were covered up by city officials.
“It does not appear that there’s been any evidence or belief by the sheriff’s office of anyone taking or personally profiting from any of the checks in question,” Jonathan Adams, district attorney of the Towaliga Judicial Circuit, said in a voicemail to the Ledger-Enquirer while replying to a request for an update on the investigation.
Adams’ office was assigned the case after Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Don Kelly recused himself in July.
Problems with revenue collection in the city started in 2023, when the Columbus Council requested a finance department audit after reports of a backlog in processing business and alcohol licenses.
The initial audit found that the office space for the occupational tax department was in disarray, and thousands of businesses were affected by the backlog. Efforts to correct the problem have made progress, according to a 2024 audit, but the city is determining whether to outsource the department.
CCG’s internal auditor initially estimated the backlog in revenue collections cost the city up to $45.1 million. However, CCG finance director Angelica Alexander told the council the backlog totaled $2.5 million from about 500 delinquent accounts.
Although the criminal investigation is not about theft, Adams said that laws still might have been broken.
“It really just seems to boil down to checks that may not have been deposited correctly or at all,” he said.
His office is investigating whether there was a “cover-up,” or if officials lied about the checks not being deposited, Adams said.
Adams said he assigned the case to his deputy chief assistant Wayne Jernigan, who is reviewing it and collaborating with the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office.
“Wayne does have a murder case in the next few weeks that is his current priority,” Adams said. “So he won’t be able to focus on the Columbus case until after that.”
Jernigan was an assistant district attorney in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit, based in Columbus.
CCG announced this week that the Fiscal Year 2024 external financial and compliance audit, conducted by Atlanta-based Mauldin & Jenkins, came back clean.
This is the 34th straight year CCG has received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association, according to the city’s news release.
“Management and staff should be proud,” David Irwin, a partner in the Macon office of Mauldin & Jenkins, said in the news release.
This audit is not a part of the criminal investigation, Adams confirmed in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer.
“It looks like the regular annual municipal audit required for their bond ratings,” he said.
