BALDWIN, Ga. — A former Baldwin city accountant altered documents and used the city’s bank account as proof of funds in an attempt to purchase a $1.7 million home, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
35-year-old Whitni Brooke Davis of Cornelia was arrested Aug. 31 and charged with five counts of computer forgery. She was booked into the Habersham County Detention Center and later released on an $11,500 bond, jail records show.
The GBI said agents determined Davis created, altered, or deleted information on multiple documents while trying to purchase the home. She used the city’s bank account to show funds were available for the purchase, the agency said in a Sept. 1 statement.
Davis: It was a ‘prank’
Baldwin police requested the GBI investigation on Feb. 11. Now Georgia first reported the case in March, when sources identified Davis, then the city’s staff accountant, as the employee under investigation.
Those sources alleged Davis also used city-linked accounts to post earnest money connected to the proposed purchase. The GBI’s statement did not address that allegation. When confronted about the transaction, Davis described it as a “prank,” according to the sources. It remained unclear whom the alleged prank targeted.
Davis was placed on unpaid administrative leave during the investigation. The GBI now identifies her as a former city employee. She did not respond to several attempts by Now Georgia to obtain comment for its original report.
Mayor reacts to arrest
Baldwin Mayor Doug Faust declined to discuss details of the arrest following Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
“The GBI has put out a statement in regard to the arrest, and we are going to stand by that statement, as the GBI handled the investigation,” Faust told Now Georgia.
Faust said revisions to the city’s purchasing policy, approved by the council Tuesday, were unrelated to Davis’ case. The changes were part of an ongoing review of city purchasing procedures.
Davis’ arrest follows a separate investigation that led to the April arrest of former Baldwin Assistant Police Chief Justin Ferguson. He was charged with theft by taking and violation of oath of office after investigators accused him of stealing money from the police department’s evidence room. The two cases are separate.
The GBI said the Davis investigation remains active. Once complete, the case will be submitted to the Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
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