PICKENS COUNTY, Ga. — A former Georgia school superintendent and his wife have pleaded guilty on racketeering and theft charges after prosecutors said they stole more than $100,000 in cash from a gun range they co-owned.
Carlton and Cindy Wilson were arrested in April after the sheriff’s office executed a search warrant on their home. According to an affidavit, the Wilsons ran the day-to-day operations of the Appalachian Gun Range. The sheriff’s investigation found that on at least seven occasions, Cindy Wilson wrote checks from the business’s account to either herself or to her husband.
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The checks ranged from $1,329 to $21,972, totalling over $60,000. Cindy Wilson asked a business that the company sold shells and casings to if they would write her personal checks that totaled over $12,000, according to the sheriff’s office. The couple also kept all the cash proceeds from the business during 2021, which amounted to more than $40,000.
On Monday, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said Carlton and Cindy Wilson each pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering and one count of theft by taking. Carlton Wilson also pleaded guilty to six additional counts of theft by taking by a fiduciary, theft by deception and theft by conversion.
“Carlton and Cindy Wilson stole thousands of dollars from hardworking Georgians, and now they are facing the consequences of their illegal actions,” Carr said. “This is a complex case that spans several years and involves multiple acts of theft, including the unlawful collection of taxpayer funds.”
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In June, Carr announced an indictment against the couple on charges of racketeering, one count of theft by taking and two counts of theft by conversion on Thursday.
Carlton Wilson was separately indicted on six counts of theft by taking by a fiduciary and one count of theft by deception. Cindy Wilson was also separately indicted on one count of tampering with evidence, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
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Carlton Wilson was the superintendent of Pickens County Schools from May 2017 through December 2019 .
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