Former DeKalb County Commissioner Charged with Stealing County Funds

ATLANTA – Elaine Boyer, the former Commissioner of District 1 in DeKalb County, Ga., has been arraigned on charges relating to her embezzlement of county funds and misuse of her DeKalb County credit card.

In September 2009, as the Commissioner of District 1, Boyer retained an unnamed advisor supposedly to assist her with government consulting and advisory duties on issues that affected her constituents, federal authorities allege. From September 2009 to November 2011, false invoices were submitted to Boyer’s office for consulting services purportedly rendered by the advisor.

The advisor performed no services for Boyer, District 1 constituents or DeKalb County, and Boyer used the false invoices as a basis to authorize payments to the advisor, authorities said. Based on requisition requests from Boyer, DeKalb County mailed approximately 35 checks to the advisor for consulting services that were never performed. In total, DeKalb County paid the advisor more than $78,000, believing that legitimate services had been performed for the county.

After being paid by DeKalb County, the advisor funneled approximately 75 percent of the money received from DeKalb County into Boyer’s personal bank account.  Between September 2009 and November 2011, the advisor deposited more than $58,000 in DeKalb County funds into Boyer’s personal bank account while retaining the remainder of the money.

In turn, Boyer used the money deposited into her account to pay personal expenses, including purchases at hotels and high-end department stores, according to authorities.

Since 1992, Boyer served as the Commissioner of District 1, which serves citizens in north DeKalb County, including in Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Tucker, and Smoke Rise, Ga. Boyer’s term of office was to expire in 2016; however, Boyer resigned yesterday.