Patricia Ritchie, 59, was arrested after Tax Commissioner Jessica Barrett said she noticed there were funds missing from the Motor Vehicles account. Barrett says she contacted the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office Nov. 2.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Todd Druse said Ritchie was arrested Thursday. Maj. Druse added that no other accounts in the tax commissioner’s office “appeared to have been compromised” but the investigation is continuing.
The exact amount of missing many is not known at this time but investigators have confirmed it to be “more than $25,000.”
Ritchie, who is from Winder, has been charged with Felony Theft By Taking.