DeKalb County, GA — The DeKalb County District attorney announced the indictment of four people accused of defrauding the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

The four are accused of conspiring to steal money via fraudulent contracts, a press release from the District Attorney’s Office announced.

“Corey Alston, 45, Toyao Andrews, 49, Quinton Tate, 41, and Shawn Williams, 60, were indicted June 27 by a DeKalb County Grand Jury on charges of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, Conspiracy to Defraud the State, False Statements/Concealment, Theft by Deception, three counts of Theft by Taking, six counts of Theft by Receiving and six counts of Bribery,” the District Attorney’s Office announced.

Williams and Andrews were employees of DCA, the DA’s office said.

“According to the preliminary investigation, Defendant Williams and Defendant Andrews, who both worked for the DCA at the time, conspired to defraud the agency by approving a contract for cleaning services at a DCA satellite office with a company owned by Andrews,” the press release says. “The DCA paid more than $64,000 to the cleaning company from 2017 to 2019, even though the office already had cleaning services provided by the building’s landlord. In 2019, Defendant Alston learned the DCA was looking for a vendor to develop an online tool for the agency.  When the state rejected his company’s request to be an authorized vendor, Defendants Alston, Andrews, and Tate agreed to use Tate’s company instead.

“Defendant Andrews then allegedly submitted invoices from Tate’s company for the online product totaling $120,000.  DCA leadership paid the invoices after Defendant Andrews and Defendant Williams told them the web service was completed and in use, though the online tool was never created.”

The DCA employees were tasked with helping people find affordable housing.

“Anyone who violates the public’s trust and takes taxpayer dollars as their own will be held accountable and brought to justice,” DA Sherry Boston said in the press release.

The DA’s office said the state Office of the Inspector General investigated the case. An arraignment is set for Aug. 7.

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