ATLANTA – A Georgia man has been sentenced to federal prison for bribing a city of Atlanta procurement official for a concessions contract at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Hayat Choudhary, of Lilburn, CEO of Atlanta Airport Shuttle Services Inc., pleaded guilty last May in connection with a contract to operate a restaurant at the airport’s Ground Transportation Building serving a growing number of taxi, limousine and rideshare drivers.
The company, also doing business as Meskerem Restaurant, won the contract in 2017 after Choudhary paid two $10,000 bribes to an Atlanta procurement official identified only as “Official 1.” Meskerem was one of two bidders for the contract.
“The public expects that government contracts are awarded solely based on merit,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “As the defendant learned, there are serious consequences for those who believe they can bribe their way into a contract. We will continue to vigorously investigate pay-to-play schemes at all levels of government.”
An ongoing federal investigation into alleged corruption at Atlanta City Hall during the administration of former Mayor Kasim Reed predates the airport bribery case. Two contractors and a former chief procurement officer for the city have been sent to prison, while former Atlanta Chief Financial Officer Jim Beard was indicted last week.
Choudhary was sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones.
ATLANTA – Georgia Power Co. is converting portions of its vehicle fleet to run on electricity, the Atlanta-based utility announced Monday.
Switching to electric-powered minivans, SUVs, forklifts and all-terrain vehicles is in keeping with a plan by Georgia Power parent Southern Co. to switch 50% of its fleet to electric vehicles by 2030.
“Our company has long been committed to growing EV infrastructure across the state and supporting customers and businesses looking to go electric,” said Nicole Faulk, Georgia Power’s senior vice president for corporate and customer services.
“As Southern Company’s largest subsidiary, the electrification of Georgia Power’s fleet will play a significant role in helping us achieve this goal corporate-wide.”
In a news release, Georgia Power pointed to advances in EV technology that are extending the range of electric vehicles and improving overall performance. EVs also are better for the environment, and the costs of many electric vehicles have become competitive with those that run on gasoline.
To serve the growing number of EVs on Georgia highways, Georgia Power has installed 41 fast-chargers across the state that can add 100 miles to a charge in just 12 minutes. The utility plans to invest $6 million in fast-chargers during the next three years.
Georgia Power also offers EV charger rebates for residential and business customers. The company’s Plug-in Electric Vehicle rate offers lower prices from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. to encourage nighttime EV charging.
ATLANTA – Atlanta-based commercial flooring company Interface Inc. agreed Monday to pay a $5 million fine stemming from a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into improper reporting of its quarterly earnings.
An order handed down by the SEC found Interface and two former executives with the company made unsupported manual accounting adjustments in 2015 and 2016, often when Interface’s internal forecasts indicated the company likely would fall short of analysts’ consensus estimates.
Those adjustments boosted the company’s income, making it possible for Interface to consistently report earnings that met or exceeded consensus estimates, according to the order.
The SEC’s actions against Interface and a Pennsylvania-based financial services company are the first arising from investigations generated by the federal agency’s Division of Enforcement EPS Initiative, which uses risk-based data analytics to uncover potential accounting and disclosure violations.
“Public company financial reporting should not present a misleading picture of performance,” said Stephanie Avakian, director of the SEC’s enforcement division. “As demonstrated by today’s actions, we will continue to leverage our internal data analysis tools to identify violators, including evidence of earnings management and other accounting or disclosure improprieties.”
Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Interface, former Chief Financial Officer Patrick C. Lynch and Gregory J. Bauer, a former controller and chief accounting officer, agreed to cease and desist from future violations.
Lynch agreed to pay a fine of $75,000, and Bauer will pay $45,000. Both men also agreed to be suspended from appearing and practicing before the commission as accountants.
The Nathan Deal Judicial Center in downtown Atlanta (Photo by Beau Evans)
ATLANTA – The Georgia Supreme Court Monday reversed a lower court decision that would have blocked the Lowndes County Commission from suing a state agency in a dispute over eligibility for state financial aid.
In a unanimous ruling, the justices declared the state cannot use the legal doctrine of “sovereign immunity” as a defense against lawsuits in certain circumstances. Sovereign immunity prohibits citizens from suing state or local governments without their permission.
The case stems from a proposed service delivery agreement Lowndes County drafted in 2016. When the city of Valdosta and four other cities in Lowndes County wouldn’t ratify the agreement, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) stepped in and declared the cities and the county would be ineligible for state financial assistance until they could come to an agreement over how to divvy up the provision of local services.
The county sued the DCA, its commissioner at the time – Camila Knowles – and the mayors and councils of the five cities, arguing the lack of consensus over a new service delivery agreement meant the previous 2008 agreement remained in effect and that the local governments, thus, were still eligible for state aid.
After the DCA and Knowles filed a motion to dismiss the case using sovereign immunity as a defense, the county amended the suit to include as defendants Knowles and members of the DCA board, dropping the agency itself as a party to the suit.
Significantly, the plaintiffs added that they were suing the defendants in their individual capacities rather than in their officials capacities with the DCA.
Both the trial court and the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled against the county on the basis that the actions the DCA commissioner and board members were being sued for were taken in their official capacities, not as individuals, and were therefore protected by sovereign immunity.
But on Monday, the state Supreme Court disagreed, declaring that sovereign immunity generally “does not apply to individual-capacity claims … against state officers and employees alleged to be acting without legal authority.”
“The Georgia Constitution allows only the General Assembly to waive the state’s sovereign immunity,” Justice Nels S.D. Peterson wrote for the court. “Applying the limitation as broadly as the state seeks would eviscerate Georgians’ well-established rights to seek redress against their government.”
Such nuanced arguments over whether the doctrine of sovereign immunity applies in certain lawsuits soon could become moot.
Georgia voters will decide on Election Day Nov. 3 whether to ratify a proposed constitutional amendment the legislature approved this year that essentially would do away with sovereign immunity as a legal defense.
ATLANTA – Georgia Republicans and Democrats went to their respective corners after President Donald Trump nominated conservative appellate judge Amy Coney Barrett to succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Peach State’s two Republican senators are all-in on the nomination and pushing for Senate confirmation of Barrett before the Nov. 3 election.
“With her background as a former clerk to the late Justice [Antonin] Scalia and an originalist, Judge Barrett will protect individual liberties including the right to life, the Second Amendment and religious liberties by ensuring the Constitution and our laws are applied as written,” said Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who boasted of being the first senator to call for a vote on the nomination before the election.
“Georgians want a Supreme Court that applies the law, not makes the law,” Sen. David Perdue added. “Throughout her impressive legal career, Judge Barrett has been an ardent defender of the Constitution and steadfast supporter of the rule of law.”
U.S. Rep. Doug Collins of Gainesville, Loeffler’s chief Republican opponent in a Nov. 3 special election to replace retired Sen. Johnny Isakson, said putting Barrett on the Supreme Court means a long-awaited opportunity to reverse the 1973 decision that legalized abortion on demand.
“The Supreme Court has a chance to forever change the outlook of our country,” Collins said. “With Judge Barrett, we finally have a chance to overturn Roe v. Wade and give millions of unborn babies a chance to live.”
Democrats are worried over the scenario Collins described.
Jon Ossoff, who is opposing Perdue’s bid for a second term, said several important questions need to be answered before senators vote on Trump’s nominee.
“Will Judge Barrett impartially uphold the rule of law in Roe v. Wade and defend the fundamental right to privacy in health care?” Ossoff asked. “Will Judge Barrett impartially uphold the rule of law and defend the public interest by upholding the Affordable Care Act, which prevents insurance companies from denying health coverage to Americans suffering from cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other pre-existing conditions?”
The Rev. Raphael Warnock, Loeffler’s main Democratic opponent, said he, too, is worried about what putting Barrett on the court could mean for the future of the Affordable Care Act.
“Now is no time to rush through a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court,” Warnock said. “Our health care, voting rights, women’s health and other important issues the next court will decide are too important for a rushed, political process. The next president, whoever it is, should make the appointment and the Senate should have a thoughtful process worthy of the importance of this seat.”
