SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Homeowners in the Magnolia Walk subdivision of South Fulton have hired an audit team to review their HOA finances after the arrest of their former president, Richard Austin, on felony theft charges.
Austin is accused of stealing over $7,000 by submitting a fake invoice for camera installations that never occurred. The discovery was made when homeowners noticed discrepancies in the financial records.
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“We were concerned about moneys being spent improperly,” homeowner William Washington told Channel 2’s Tom Jones. “And services being paid for that were not rendered.”
The investigation began when homeowners noticed that Austin was reimbursed more than $7,000 for cameras he claimed to have installed at the community pool. However, upon contacting the business listed on the invoice, no payment was made, and no cameras were installed.
This led to police arresting Austin, who now faces charges of felony theft by deception.
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Homeowners have since hired an outside firm to conduct a thorough audit of their finances, suspecting that more funds might be missing.
Washington mentioned that the community had to spend an additional $7,000 to install the cameras that were initially claimed to be installed by Austin.
The homeowners are also implementing internal controls to prevent future incidents.
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