LOGANVILLE, Ga. — A Gwinnett County magistrate judge dismissed some, but not all, of the theft charges Friday against Angelo Moe, who spent more than two weeks in jail accused of stealing from clients.
Moe, 55, ran a company called Hienz Incorporated that helped people who could not get conventional bank loans, his attorney told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson.
Two out-of-state clients accused him of stealing $80,000 they wired him for a Pennsylvania real estate deal that ultimately fell through.
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Defense attorney Marc Pilgrim of the Pilgrim Law Firm said the prosecution’s case fell apart against his client on Friday when the detective couldn’t explain some of the facts of the alleged crime.
“The detective alluded to a written agreement but then couldn’t really articulate what was in that agreement,” Pilgrim told Channel 2 Action News.
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The attorney argued the case was a civil matter, not criminal.
He said Moe worked as a middleman helping people organize their finances for hard money lenders.
“Folks need to be aware of what the contract is, what they’re asking the person to do, and don’t take out warrants just because the end result didn’t happen,” he said.
Moe still faces three separate felony theft by taking counts from a February grand jury indictment involving four victims and more than $28,000.
“I don’t represent him on those charges,” Pilgrim said, “but if those charges look like these charges today, then they should be dismissed.”
Jail records show Moe was released from jail Friday afternoon.
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