A Putnam County woman is facing federal charges after she was arrested last week for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Milledgeville Housing Authority, according to authorities.
Jennifer Kay Smith was arrested Thursday, Aug. 18, without incident at her home on Rockville Springs Road, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said. Putnam County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called by Milledgeville Police Chief Dray Swicord to assist the Milledgeville Police Department officers and U.S. Secret Service agents in the arrest.
At the time of her arrest, Smith was an employee of the Milledgeville Housing Authority, where she reportedly handled all the financial and payroll accounts. She was charged with felony theft by taking and fraud, according to information from Milledgeville Police Department.
Swicord said another employee of the housing authority contacted the police department a couple of weeks ago, and MPD’s investigation revealed Smith was making fraudulent payments to herself, with the total amount being close to $600,000. Due to the large amount of funds and the victim being a government agency, Swicord notified the Secret Service. The investigation is ongoing.