Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp suspended the mayor of Central Georgia on Tuesday following his indictment on many felonies related to stealing from his community.
The mayor of Pineview, Wilcox County, Brandon Holt, was taken into custody back in January following a GBI investigation that claimed he had stolen close to $65,000 from the town of fewer than 500 people. Holt was afterwards set free on a bond.
According to Holt’s arrest warrant, the alleged theft of city funds occurred between June 26 and October 11, 2023.
According to the allegations, Holt transferred money from the general account of the city of Pineview into his personal bank accounts by doing 75 transactions using the mobile payment software Cash software.
On October 20, just nine days after the last Cash App transaction is thought to have occurred, Wilcox County Sheriff Steve Mauldin and District Attorney Brad Rigby requested that the GBI look into Holt.
Following the GBI’s investigation, Holt was accused of 75 theft by taking counts, one for each purported Cash App transaction.
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Then, in March, a grand jury indicted Holt on several felonies related to theft by taking.
A “Review Commission” was established 15 days after the governor’s office claims to have received Holt’s indictment on March 13, 2024, in order to “determine whether the indictment relates to and adversely affects the administration of the Office of the Mayor of Pineview such that rights and interests of the public are adversely affected,” according to the executive order.
The governor’s office received the commission’s report on Thursday, and it noted precisely this: “the indictment of Mr. Brandon Holt does relate to and does adversely affect the administration of the Office of the Mayor of Pineview, and that the public’s rights and interests are adversely affected.”
Holt’s removal from office was suggested by the Commission, and Kemp signed the executive order on Tuesday. The complete order is available here.
“Mr. Brandon Holt is hereby suspended from office immediately and without further action pending the final disposition of the case or until expiration of his term of office, which ever occurs first,” the presidential order reads.
However, the 34-year-old mayor has already faced charges related to theft investigations.
Holt was taken into custody in Bibb County back in 2022 on nine counts of financial identity fraud and two counts of felony theft by deception.
In an indictment filed in Bibb County Superior Court, Holt is charged with “fraudulently” transferring money to his William & Fudge and Bridgecrest Financial accounts by using the account number of Macon Asphalt, a construction company in Macon, and its owner, Willy Buckland.
On their websites, those two businesses state that they offer loan services.
According to the indictment, Holt stole $22,196 from Macon Asphalt by using the company’s account numbers. The indictment also reveals that transactions from 2018 are the basis for the alleged thefts.
