Boyer Faces Federal Fraud Charges, Plans to Plead Guilty

Elaine Boyer, who resigned as Commissioner of District 1 in DeKalb County, was arraigned Tuesday on federal charges tied to submitting fake invoices totaling $78,000 on behalf of an advisor who performed no work for the county and misuse of her DeKalb County credit card.

Boyer resigned from office Monday afternoon, telling WSB TV that she has betrayed her constituents and no longer wants an investigation into the purported misuse of a county credit card to be a distraction.

“It’s a very hard decision and I’m heartbroken and saddened, but I need to resign,” Boyer told the TV station.

All of the roughly $16,000 Boyer had charged for personal expenses has been repaid to the county, WSB reports.

Boyer apologized in March for allegedly misusing her county debit card for thousands of dollars of personal expenses, and said she didn’t realize the practice was prohibited.

Since 1992, Boyer served as the Commissioner of District 1, which serves north DeKalb County, including in Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Tucker, and Smoke Rise.

Federal Fraud Charges

Boyer, 57, of Stone Mountain, was charged with conspiring to commit mail fraud and with wire fraud. She is scheduled to plead guilty on Sept. 3 in federal court, according to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office.

“As an elected county commissioner, Ms. Boyer had a duty to serve the best interests of the citizens of DeKalb County,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “Instead of honoring that commitment, Ms. Boyer stole from the citizens she was sworn to serve by diverting thousands of dollars in county funds to her personal bank account and using her county-issued credit card like it was her own.”

According to the FBI investigation and court documents, Boyer hired an advisor in September 2009 to assist her with government consulting and advisory duties on issues that affected her constituents. From September 2009 to November 2011, false invoices were submitted to Boyer’s office for consulting services purportedly rendered by the advisor. Authorities allege that the advisor performed no services for Boyer, her constituents, or DeKalb County.

Instead, Boyer used the false invoices as a basis to authorize 35 payments to the unnamed advisor for consulting services that were never performed. In total, DeKalb County paid the individual more than $78,000, authorities say.

The advisor deposited more than $58,000 in DeKalb County funds into Boyer’s personal bank account while retaining the remainder of the money. In turn, authorities charge, Boyer used the money deposited into her account to pay personal expenses, including purchases at hotels and high-end department stores.

Newspaper: Payments Made to Evangelist

While the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office didn’t name the advisor who allegedly helped Boyer, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Marion Rooks Boynton, a 72-year-old evangelist who ran unsuccessfully for DeKalb County offices decades ago, is the unnamed consultant. The newspaper says it had been asking Boyer for proof of the work Boynton had performed but she had none.

Boynton has not been charged in the case.

The other financial misdeed Boyer is accused of is using her county-issued credit card for more than $15,000 in personal goods and services, including purchasing airline tickets and hotel rooms for herself and her family for personal travel.

J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, said “Public corruption based investigations often stem from actions that would be seen as clearly improper and illegal to the average person. The charges in this case, however, reflect criminal actions of a 22-year veteran DeKalb County Commissioner who knew fully the nature of her actions and she will now face the consequences of those actions.”