Goodwill of Middle Georgia reports $76,000 of ‘unauthorized transactions’ by ex-CFO
A former chief financial officer for Macon-based Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia used one of the organization’s credit cards for “personal, unauthorized transactions” totaling more than $76,000, according to a complaint filed last week.
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, in a report detailing the matter, said that it was contacted Aug. 23 by a Goodwill official and informed that ex-CFO Tim Ligon had “used his company credit card to make $76,593 in personal, unauthorized transactions.”
The complaint was made in Madison, which straddles Interstate 20 between Macon and Athens, because that is where Ligon lives and, as the report noted, where “the majority of the purchases were made.”
Ligon did not immediately return a voicemail message seeking comment on Monday.
The matter was first reported Friday by the Morgan County Citizen newspaper, which also noted that Ligon, a certified public accountant, is chairman of the City of Madison’s Audit Committee.
In a supplemental report on Aug. 23, a sheriff’s official mentioned that Goodwill “was not seeking criminal prosecution of this case, but simply needed a law enforcement incident report to provide to their insurance company.”
According to Telegraph archives, Ligon was hired by Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia as chief financial officer in 2008. He was fired in April, according to the sheriff’s report.
Ligon, now in his mid-50s, was a former CFO of Nexcen Franchise Management Inc., and vice president and corporate controller with Avado Brands Inc.
The sheriff’s report in Morgan County said that Goodwill officials had “recently discovered” the alleged fraud and that “these transactions occurred between the years of 2015 and 2021.
Goodwill, the sheriff’s report went on, sent Ligon a letter giving him until Aug. 7 to “pay back” the $76,593 “in whole, and “Ligon signed and returned the letter to Goodwill, however he has not made any payments.”
A Goodwill official, in reporting the matter to a sheriff’s deputy, said Goodwill’s insurance company “would be conducting a forensic audit and no action would be required by a law enforcement agency at this time.”
Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the Central Savannah River Area, which serves 31 counties in Georgia and four in South Carolina, said in a statement on Monday that it was “regrettable this abuse of trust occurred.”
The statement said the transactions in question were discovered in March.
“As the Chief Financial Officer,” the statement said, “Mr. Ligon was trusted to create systems to ensure that Goodwill’s financial resources were safeguarded. Because of this, Mr. Ligon was able to circumvent the system he created.”
James K. “Jim” Stiff, the region’s Goodwill president, told The Telegraph by phone Monday that Ligon “has admitted to misappropriating the use of his credit card and signed a document saying he was sorry.”
The organization’s statement went on to say that it was “cooperating fully with its insurance company and law enforcement to ensure the matter is appropriately investigated and addressed. ... Goodwill has insurance (policies) against employee theft, so its ability to serve others will be unaffected by this isolated event.”
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 1:58 PM.