COVINGTON, Ga. — A former Salvation Army employee is facing a range of felony charges after her recent arrest related to the theft of federal COVID relief funds the agency was distributing to area residents to pay housing and utility bills.
Christal Guthrie, 44, of Covington, was charged with one count of Theft by Deception and 11 counts of False Statements/Fraudulent Documents in connection with an allegation she forged or manipulated qualifying documents to gain personal use of the money.
Lt. Daniel Digby of the Covington Police Department said “due to the complexity of the case which involves numerous documents, the case remains active.”
“It is expected to take several months, and further charges and arrests are possible,” Digby said.
The amount allegedly taken has not been publicly disclosed.
In addition, information from the U.S. Small Business Administration shows Guthrie also received a $41,362 Paycheck Protection Program loan in early 2021 from Cross River Bank for a beauty salon business she operated from her home on Kestrel Circle in the River Walk Farm subdivision.
The business was listed as Chrissy Dior LLC in Georgia Secretary of State records. She was approved for the loan on Feb. 14, 2021, less than a month before the LLC was formed on March 8, 2021.
In April of this year, Newton County hired the Covington branch of the Salvation Army to distribute $700,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to those whose incomes were affected by COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
The funds were intended to be given to those who qualified for the money to pay past-due mortgage, rental and utility payments.
The Salvation Army also was to develop the applications used to determine residents’ eligibility for the money.
The agency, which was receiving a 15% fee for administrative costs, had paid out almost $580,000 before the fraud was discovered, county officials said.
A Salvation Army official said in September the suspect had been hired after the first of June.
Guthrie was listed on applications as a caseworker and the main contact person for questions about residents’ eligibility for payments from the county government’s share of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds on an initial Salvation Army application.
On Aug. 17, the Covington Police Department began an investigation after receiving a report of possible misuse of the funds, a department spokesman said.
It followed the Salvation Army’s completion of an internal audit that revealed evidence of forged or manipulated documents the service agency produced for applications for the funding, said county spokesman Bryan Fazio.
The agency alerted the county government Sept. 14 about possible misappropriation of the funding, Fazio said. The Newton County District Attorney’s office then began a criminal investigation, he said.
On Oct. 3, Covington Police executed a search warrant at her Newton County residence and arrested Guthrie, Digby said.
