Covington Housing Authority Executive Director Greg Williams is continuing to gather documents for the forensic audit which was initiated after suspected employee theft was discovered earlier this year.

Williams filed an incident report with the Covington Police Department (CPD) Captain Philip Bradford Oct. 26 reporting an alleged theft occurred between January 2015 and September 2016.

“It is unknown at this time the total amount,” Bradford reported. A forensic audit, conducted by Yeager & Boyd, an accounting firm out of Birmingham, Ala., was initiated to determine an exact total.

Williams updated the Board of Commissioners of the Housing Authority of the City of Covington Tuesday, during the regularly scheduled meeting, that a box of requested documents had been sent off to the accountants that day.

“We as a board, and I think I can speak for everybody, we just want to make sure that anything that they need they’re getting in a timely manner and that everything is going through,” Landis Stephens, chairman, said.

“We are wanting to get this done just as much as anybody because this has just totally disrupted us,” Williams said. “It has been my priority to get the financial statements and the audit done. That’s my priority right now”

CPD Chief Stacey Cotton told The Covington News in October, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) has been contacted to assist in the investigation.

Williams said he, along with members of his staff, has a meeting with a special agent from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Wednesday morning. OIG conducts investigations, which are different from audits and evaluations, according to its website. OIG special agents are specifically trained in conducting complex financial fraud investigations.

In other news, the housing authority received 50 applications for its open administrative manager position.

Shamica Redding, deputy director, has sent out 35 rejection letters and informed the other 15 applicants that they have moved on to the three-part interview process.