Former Dawson County Public Official Sentenced for Tax and Bankruptcy Fraud
Becky McCord Embezzled Over $120,000 in Public Funds While Clerk of Court for Dawson County Superior Court

GAINESVILLE, GA—BECKY M. MCCORD, 62, of Dawsonville, Georgia, was sentenced to federal prison today by Senior United States District Judge William C. O’Kelley for tax evasion and bankruptcy fraud.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “Public officials who are caught lying, stealing, and abusing their position of trust will end up in jail. This defendant stole from the people of Dawson County to enrich herself. She will now spend two years in federal prison.”

“Today, Ms. McCord not only has to face the consequences of failing to report all of her income on her federal tax return,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, Reginael D. McDaniel. “She must also accept the consequences of betraying the trust of the people she served in Dawson County.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta, said, “The FBI remains committed to investigate and hold accountable those who betray the public trust placed in them and their position. This case is an example of a public employee who blatantly stole from her employer—the taxpayers.”

MCCORD was sentenced to two years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, and pay $51,611 in restitution to the IRS for back taxes. MCCORD pleaded guilty to the charges on June 17, 2011.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: McCORD served as the Clerk of Court for the Superior Court of Dawson County, Georgia, from 1993 to February 2010. Between 2006 and 2009, McCORD wrote and signed checks payable to herself from the Dawson County Superior Court’s bank account to which she was not entitled. The total amount of these checks approximated $134,000. McCORD subsequently cashed those checks at various banks in Dawsonville and used the funds for personal expenses such as a car loan and mortgage payments.

McCORD did not report on her 2009 federal tax return the funds she withdrew from the Dawson County Superior Court’s bank account for personal use, nor did she report additional legitimate income that she received from the collection of passport fees. McCORD also failed to report this income on a bankruptcy petition that she filed jointly with her spouse in December 2007, and amended several times through June 2009.

This case was investigated by special agents of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorneys Steven D. Grimberg and Stephanie Gabay-Smith prosecuted the case.

For further information, please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.