Former Cornelia Fire Department Assistant Chief Shane Bentley, 44, of Toccoa was arrested on Feb. 2 and charged with one count of first-degree forgery and one count of theft by taking.
The Cornelia Police Department requested the GBI Cleveland Office investigate a forgery identified by the police department surrounding a donation of gear to the fire department from another fire department.
In addition, the items that were donated were not all accounted for after a Cornelia Fire Department inventory, the GBI said Tuesday.
Bentley also was charged in Franklin County in 2020 with four counts of theft by taking.
The GBI said the arrest was the result of an investigation concerning unauthorized purchases made with city of Lavonia funds.
“Bentley, who served as the assistant chief of the Lavonia Volunteer Fire Department, purchased several equipment items that were not for the use of the volunteer fire department,” said Special Agent in Charge Jesse Maddox in the press release.
The Lavonia Police Department requested the Athens GBI office to investigate this matter after city officials discovered unusually high expenditures by the Lavonia Volunteer Fire Department. Those expenditures took place over the course of several months.
Several of those purchases were unaccounted for and not made specifically for the fire department.
Bentley is still awaiting trial in Franklin County. He resigned from the Cornelia Fire Department Sept. 12, 2022.
Upon completion of the investigation, the case will be provided to the Mountain Judicial Circuit for prosecution.
– Staff reports