The governor of Georgia suspended a mayor after he was indicted on charges of stealing nearly $65,000 from the town.
According to Fox 5 Atlanta, the mayor of Pineview, Georgia, Brandon Holt, was given the suspension by Gov. Brian Kemp on April 9. He will not be able to govern until his criminal charges are resolved. Along with the suspension, he will not receive pay while this is being determined.
ontent-ad1">Holt was accused of taking $64,455 from Pineview’s bank account between June 2023 and October 2023. He allegedly used Cash App to transfer the funds into his banking account 75 times. He was arrested in January and indicted last month as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) charged him with 75 counts of theft by taking. He is currently free on bail.
The GBI announced the arrest in a press release stating that the 34-year-old Holt was taken into custody and booked on January 16 at the Wilcox County Jail. Wilcox County Sheriff Steve Mauldin and District Attorney Brad Rigby requested that the agency look into allegations that the mayor had misappropriated City of Pineview funds.
According to WGXA, the suspended mayor addressed the allegations at a Pineview City Council meeting in February: “What I think most people want to know is about the charges against me. Those are just what I stated; those are allegations,” Holt said.
13 WMAZ reported that this is not his first robbery accusation and arrest.
In 2022, Holt was arrested in Bibb County and charged with two counts of felony theft by deception charges and nine counts of financial identity fraud.
An indictment revealed that Holt was accused of “fraudulently” using the bank account number of a Macon construction company, Macon Asphalt, and the owner, Willy Buckland, to send money to Holt’s William & Fudge and Bridgecrest Financial accounts. He was accused of stealing $22,196 from the company. The alleged thefts were linked back to transactions from 2018.