Former Forsyth Sen. Takes Insurance Fraud Plea Deal

CUMMING, Ga. — Former state Sen. Michael Williams has pleaded guilty and accepted a plea deal after he fraudulently reported computers missing from his headquarters when he was running for governor.

Under the First Offender Act, Williams, who was first elected to the state senate in 2014 to represent Forsyth County, was sentenced to four years of probation, 120 hours of community service and a $5,000. The court records were sealed as a condition of the plea agreement, the AJC reported.

Williams reported to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in May 2018 that his Gainesville office was burglarized. His former campaign manager, Seth Weathers, said there was about $300,000 worth of computers servers taken from the headquarters.

They said the computers were used to mine cryptocurrency for Williams' business. The computers were housed at the campaign office, but not used for his campaign.

Hall County officials charged Williams in December 2018 with three counts of insurance fraud, false reporting of a crime and making a false statement, records show.

Williams reportedly lied to a GBI agent when he said he was at home in Forsyth County, not in the Gainesville area at the time of the purported burglary, the AJC reported.

Multiple reports showed his former campaign manager, Seth Weathers, saying the indictment was a “political witch hunt."