ATLANTA – A Georgia attorney and former Atlanta police officer has been convicted on federal charges of fraudulently obtaining more than $7 million in pandemic relief funds.
Shelitha Robertson, 62, of Atlanta submitted applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans on behalf of four businesses she owned. The applications falsely inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for each of the businesses, resulting in larger PPP loans that she could legitimately obtain.
Robertson used the loan proceeds to buy luxury items, including a 10-carat diamond ring, and transfer funds to family members and a co-conspirator who already has pleaded guilty in the case.
Robertson was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering. She faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, and up to 10 years behind bars for money laundering.
The investigation was conducted by the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which the Justice Department formed in 2021 to enhance efforts to prevent and combat pandemic-related fraud.
ATLANTA – Georgia’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.4% in November for the third month in a row, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.
Several categories again reached record highs, including the number of jobs, which rose slightly by 0.3% last month compared to November of last year to more than 4.95 million.
The labor force was up by 11,263 to nearly 5.36 million, another all-time high. Georgia’s labor force participation rate held steady at 61.6% last month compared to October but is up from 61.0% at the beginning of the year.
The number of employed Georgians also rose by 9,755 to almost 5.18 million, also an all-time high.
“With record-high job numbers, a thriving economy that stands among the nation’s best, and a workforce eager to embrace new opportunities, Georgia is poised to enter the new year with hope and boundless possibilities for all,” state Commissioner of Labor Bruce Thompson said Thursday.
On the negative side of the ledger, initial unemployment claims were up by 3% last month to 22,316. However, first-time jobless claims for the year declined by 13%.
ATLANTA – A federal judge appeared to throw cold water Wednesday on efforts to challenge new congressional and legislative maps the General Assembly’s Republican majorities drew during a recent special session.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones declared during a hearing that the case has focused on the rights of Black voters, not either Asian or Hispanic voters, the Associated Press reported.
The new maps created seven new Black majority districts in the General Assembly, two in the state Senate and five in the Georgia House, as well as an additional Black majority district in the state’s congressional map, as Jones ordered in October when he declared the maps lawmakers drew in 2021 in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
But legislative Democrats argued during the special session that Republicans failed to protect so-called “coalition” districts, where Blacks do not make up a majority of voters but together with Hispanic and Asian voters wield enough political clout to elect a minority candidate.
The prime example Democrats cited was Georgia’s 7th Congressional District, which was a coalition district centered in Gwinnett County under the 2021 map. The redrawn district would become 75% white under the new map, as Republicans moved the district completely out of Gwinnett and ran it as far north as heavily white Dawson and Lumpkin counties.
But Jones said Wednesday that no evidence concerning Asian and Hispanic voting behavior was introduced at the earlier trial. He said he was reluctant to rule on what amounts to a new alleged violation during a short time frame.
The judge indicated he would issue a decision soon to meet a mid-January deadline for the 2024 elections.
The first of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle went into service at the end of July.
ATLANTA – Georgia energy regulators unanimously approved a plan Tuesday to let Georgia Power pass on to customers almost $7.6 billion of its costs in building two additional nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle.
The Atlanta-based utility agreed in August to reduce the costs it was asking the state Public Service Commission (PSC) to declare “reasonable and prudent” by about $2.6 billion after years of delays and cost overruns that more than doubled the price tag from the $14 billion the commission authorized back in 2009.
The first of the new reactor units at the plant south of Augusta went into service at the end of July. The second is due to follow by the end of March. The project will increase the average residential customer’s bill by $8.95 per month.
Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, the only member of the PSC who was on the board in 2009, acknowledged the difficulties the project has faced during the last 14 years.
“It has been a journey,” McDonald said before Tuesday’s vote. “(But) for the first time in 34 years in America, a nuclear plant has been built. … We suffered the pain, but we’re also going to enjoy the benefit.”
“The Vogtle … nuclear expansion project represents a long-term investment for our 2.7 million customers and Georgia, providing clean, safe, reliable, and emission-free energy for decades to come,” Georgia Power added in a statement.
“We believe this decision by the Georgia PSC acknowledges the perspectives of all parties involved and takes a balanced approach the recognizes the value of this long-term energy asset for the state of Georgia and affordability needs for customers.”
Representatives of environmental and consumer advocacy groups that signed onto the agreement with Georgia Power pointed to the company’s commitment to significantly expand its energy efficiency programs and increase the number of seniors who will qualify for its bill-relief program.
“We are pleased the commission included programs that will provide the most vulnerable customers with some bill relief,” said Codi Norred, executive director of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light. “That being said, Georgia Power customers have and will continue to pay heavily for Vogtle’s budget overruns.
“After Vogtle, we hope the commission will double down on their support of cost-saving renewable options like solar and battery storage.”
Bryan Jacob, representing the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, complained during a hearing last week that the August agreement fails to set forth how the costs of the Vogtle nuclear expansion will be allocated between residential and small-business customers and large industrial customers.
“Georgia Power has the obligation to prove its rate allocation is just and reasonable,” he said.
Jacob also suggested the commission should have required Georgia Power to credit residential and small-business customers for what they’ve already paid up front for the project.
Nuclear Watch South, one of the environmental organizations opposed to the agreement, said the rate increase for Plant Vogtle is one of several Georgia Power has received during the past year.
“The smart money knows nuclear energy is a bad investment,” said Stephen Wing, a member of Nuclear Watch South’s Board of Directors. “Yet the profit on that investments goes to Georgia Power shareholders … while we get stuck with a 26% rate hike to cover the project’s construction mistakes, on top of three other rate hikes in the past year alone.”
Georgia Power is a 45% partner in the Vogtle expansion, working with Oglethorpe Power, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG) and Dalton Utilities.
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp is taking aim at state employee retention and school safety.
Kemp announced Monday that the fiscal 2024 midyear budget will include $330 million for one-time pay supplements of $1,000 for each of about 112,000 state employees and 196,000 teachers and school support staff.
The governor also plans to put more than $100 million toward providing every public school $45,000 for personnel and infrastructure improvements to strengthen campus security.
“Throughout the pandemic, a summer of unrest, and the unprecedented challenges of the last several years, our state employees have worked hard, taken on additional challenges, remained committed to serving their fellow Georgians, and become more streamlined so we remain the best state for opportunity,” Kemp said.
“This retention pay supplement will arrive during the holiday season, and it’s part of my administration’s way of showing our appreciation for all that they do.”
Unlike the pay supplements, the school safety funds will be built into the state’s annual base budget as ongoing expenditures. Kemp previously authorized two school safety grants, with $30,000 going to each public school in 2019 and a second round of $50,000 grants announced earlier this year.
“This additional investment in school safety will benefit every part of the state,” he said.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who presides over the Georgia Senate, and House Speaker Jon Burns expressed support for both initiatives Monday.
“The safety and wellbeing of our students across the state is always my top priority,” Jones said.
“We want every child in our state to have the opportunity to learn, grow, and explore in a safe and secure environment,” added Burns, R-Newington. “This proposal will help ensure that happens.”
ATLANTA – A nonprofit formed to help administer a new state tax credit to support foster children aging out of the system is working against a tight deadline.
Fostering Success Act Inc. has until Dec. 31 to process $20 million in annual tax credits the General Assembly authorized last year. As of the beginning of this month, $15 million still remained available, said Heidi Carr, the organization’s executive director.
“We’ve been reaching out to a lot of companies and individuals to get their applications in,” she said. “But time is running out.”
Under legislation Georgia lawmakers passed unanimously, individual taxpayers can receive dollar-for-dollar state income tax credits for up to $2,500 per year contributed to the program, while married couples filing jointly can receive up to $5,000. Corporate donations are limited to 10% of the company’s annual tax liability.
“They have to pay taxes anyway,” Carr said. “This is an opportunity to make a difference.”
About 700 young Georgians age out of the foster care system each year, most with no family to return to after they leave the system.
Carr cited statistics showing 97% of those youths end up living in chronic poverty, 71% of the girls get pregnant within a year of leaving foster care, and 81% of the boys encounter police.
“They don’t have anywhere to go back to, so they end up on the street,” she said.
Contributions to the tax credit program will be used for “wraparound” services – including housing, food, and transportation – to help support these young people while they attend a university or technical college. Former foster care youths ages 18 to 25 are eligible for the program.
“We want them to learn a trade or get a degree,” Carr said.
Fostering Success Act Inc. currently is distributing funds raised through the tax credit to 20 nonprofit organizations, with more in the pipeline for 2024. One of those is Alpharetta-based FaithBridge Foster Care, which has helped kids aging out of foster care enroll in colleges across the state, from Dalton State College in Northwest Georgia to the College of Coastal Georgia and Valdosta State University.
“Over 50% of foster kids sign out of foster care at 18,” said John Solberg, vice president of youth opportunities at FaithBridge. “They believe they can support themselves, but they can fall into homelessness and have other issues because they’re not mentally or emotionally prepared for the challenges of adulthood.”
Applications for the tax credit to the Georgia Department of Revenue are accepted on a first-come basis. Once approved, taxpayers have 60 days from the date of approval to send their contribution check or pay online.
Carr said she’s not surprised the program is getting off to slow start because the tax credit is new and a lot of taxpayers aren’t aware of it. Thus far, about 100 youths have contacted her organization for help, she said.
“We were able to help some start school in August, and we have more lined up for January,” she said. “This gives them hope. Hope is something they don’t have a lot of.”
