Mayor Shirley Franklin and CFO Rick Anderson stated today that two people have been arrested by the Atlanta Police Department as part of the ongoing investigation into the diversion of City of Atlanta pension funds. Lasheika Smith, a former employee of the City of Atlanta Finance Department, Pension Division, and Howard Hill, an employee of the U.S. Postal Service were both arrested on Thursday evening. These arrests are part of a broad investigation being conducted into fraudulent transactions involving pension funds. The former City of Atlanta employee arrested today allegedly diverted pension payments upon a pensioner’s death into a fraudulent account, and then subsequently accessed those funds using an ATM card.
Mayor Franklin reiterated her firm commitment to ethical government and stated that the City is committed to a full investigation of this activity. Mayor Franklin said, “When I came into office, I pledged to run the City in an ethical, responsible way. It is unfortunate that some City employees have engaged in this type of activity. I am working closely with the Law Department, the Finance Department, the City Internal Auditor, and Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, to be sure that those responsible for this activity are identified and punished, that the proper controls are put in place to ensure that such activity cannot occur again, and that full restitution is sought.”
It is not known at this time the amount of money that is involved. CFO Rick Anderson stated that controls have been established within the Pension Division to ensure that this fraudulent activity is halted. He also said that the investigation of the division is continuing and other arrests may be forthcoming.
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