HOMER, Ga. — A former district attorney in Northeast Georgia was sentenced to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a payroll scheme that bilked taxpayers out of nearly $40,000.
Tim Madison pleaded guilty to two felony theft charges, one felony count of violation of oath of office, four felony counts of false statements and writings, and one felony count of conspiracy to defraud a political subdivision.
Senior Superior Court Judge Robert Mallis sentenced Madison to six years in prison, to be followed by six years on probation. Madison was also ordered to pay about $40,000 in restitution.
“Today’s sentencing will go a long way towards removing the tarnish from the judicial system in the Piedmont Circuit,” Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker said. “The criminal actions of a few have cast a pall over many, but the prison sentence given to Madison today reflects that the corruption was attributable to individuals, not the entire system.”
Madison served as District Attorney for 24 years of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit. He resigned in June 2007 amid a state investigation by Baker and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Investigators were probing payroll schemes by a former assistant district attorney as well as Madison’s current wife, who served as a victim/witness coordinator in Jackson and Banks counties – two of the three counties that make up the Piedmont Judicial Circuit.
Madison was subsequently indicted, along with former Assistant District Attorney Brett Williams and Victim/Witness Coordinator Linn Madison, also known as Linn Jones, on Aug. 28, 2007.
Charges remain outstanding against Brett Williams – two felony theft charges and one felony count of violation of oath of office – and Linn Madison – four felony counts of false statements and writings and one felony count of conspiracy to defraud a political subdivision.
The criminal counts against Madison and Williams arose out of their scheme to bill Banks County for a full-time salary for Williams, with Williams and Madison splitting those funds, despite the fact that Williams, as a full-time state funded assistant district attorney, already had his salary paid for by the State of Georgia. The criminal counts against Madison and his wife center around time sheets that Linn Madison submitted to Banks County.
The indicted counts center on time sheets reflecting that Linn Madison was working in Banks County, yet on 2 of the days her credit card revealed that she was in Florida, one of the days her card revealed she was on a cruise ship based out of Brunswick, Ga., and one of the days had her card showing that she was in San Diego, Calif.
Prosecution of this case was handled by Senior Assistant Attorneys General David McLaughlin and Kimberly Schwartz. The investigation was handled by Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John Cagle and Special Agent Brian Whidby.
