I know what you’re thinking. Michael Williams’ fraud of a gubernatorial campaign wasn’t a crime. Well, not according to the official code of Georgia anyway. Filing a false insurance claim is, however.
From the Forsyth County News, who broke the story yesterday:
Former gubernatorial candidate Michael Williams was sentenced to probation after fraudulently claiming computers were stolen from his office in Gainesville.
Williams took a plea deal under the First Offender Act last week for five years of probation in the insurance fraud case, Northeastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lee Darragh said.
Williams was given five years of probation each on the insurance fraud and false statements charges and 12 months of probation on the false report of a crime charge. Those sentences will run concurrently, meaning Williams serves five years probation.
This goes against the claims made during the campaign. The question of whether the motive was financial or publicity for a campaign that was rapidly circling the drain unanswered. From the same article:
In May, Williams’ campaign spokesman Seth Weathers told the Gainesville Times that about $300,000 worth of cryptocurrency servers were missing from Williams’ office on Monroe Drive in Gainesville. Williams had been using the servers for his business, LPW Investments, and running campaign operations out of a separate part of the building.
At the successful completion of the sentence, Williams will be exonerated under the first offender act. That will free him to run again as soon as 2024 or statewide in 2026 claiming this never happened. That is, unless his deportation bus is “stolen” before then.