PINEVIEW, Ga. — A Central Georgia mayor was suspended by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday after being indicted on multiple felony counts of stealing from his city.
Brandon Holt, the mayor of Pineview in Wilcox County, was arrested back in January after a GBI investigation accused Holt of stealing nearly $65,000 from the city of fewer than 500 residents. Holt was later released on bond.
The alleged theft of city funds happened between June 26 and Oct. 11, 2023, according to Holt's arrest warrant obtained by 13WMAZ. It accuses Holt of making 75 transactions through the mobile payment app Cash App, funneling funds from the city of Pineview's general account into his personal bank accounts.
District Attorney Brad Rigby and Wilcox County Sheriff Steve Mauldin asked the GBI to investigate Holt on Oct. 20, only nine days after the last Cash App transaction is believed to have been made.
After the GBI's investigation, Holt was charged with 75 counts of theft by taking, corresponding to each alleged Cash App transaction.
Then in March, Holt was indicted by a grand jury on multiple felony counts of theft by taking. The governor's office says they received Holt's indictment on March 13, 2024, and then, 15 days later, a "Review Commission" was formed 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," the executive order reads.
On Thursday, the commission's report was given to the governor's office and they found just that: "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 rights and interests of the public are adversely affected."
The Commission recommended Holt be suspended from office, and Kemp issued the executive order Tuesday. You can read the full order 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 executive order says.
But this is not the first time the 34-year-old mayor has been charged in a theft investigation.
Back in 2022, Holt was arrested in Bibb County on two counts of felony theft by deception charges along with nine counts of financial identity fraud.
According to an indictment in Bibb County Superior Court, Holt is accused of "fraudulently" using the account number of a Macon construction company Macon Asphalt and its owner, Willy Buckland, to send funds to his William & Fudge and Bridgecrest Financial accounts.
Both those companies provide loan services, according to their websites.
The indictment claims Holt used the account numbers for Macon Asphalt to steal $22,196 from the company. The indictment also shows that the alleged thefts date back to transactions from 2018.