On Friday, October 18, 2013, Michael David Potts Jr., a former investigator in the DeKalb County Solicitor General’s Office, was scheduled for arraignment in Carroll County Superior Court and pled not guilty to charges involving investment fraud. He is accused of stealing $204,000 from 14 victims between 2007 and 2010. A Carroll County Grand Jury indicted him on October 8, 2013, for Racketeering (O.C.G.A. § 16-14-4(a)).

The indictment alleges that Potts solicited co-workers to purchase unregistered securities in the form of investment agreements while employed by the Solicitor General’s Office. He was not and had never been a securities dealer. Each investment agreement promised high rates of return in short amounts of time. He allegedly told each victim that the amount of his or her initial investment was safe and would be returned in the event the venture was to fail.

The indictment contends that as each return date arrived Potts gave victims excuses but no money. Bank records reveal that he did not invest the funds but instead, appeared to use the money for personal expenses.

Potts eventually left the Solicitor General’s Office and allegedly continued his scheme convincing acquaintances and others to purchase unregistered investment agreements. He purportedly gained the trust of victims by touting his law enforcement background and living a flashy lifestyle. He again offered high rates of return in short time frames with no risk. Each time he kept the victims’ money for his own use and did not invest any of it as promised.

Racketeering is punishable by five to 20 years imprisonment and/or a $25,000 fine or three times the amount of any monetary value gained.

Assistant Attorney General Blair McGowan is prosecuting the case on behalf of the State of Georgia. The case was investigated by Investigator Adrick Hall and Investigator Denise Williams, both of the Secretary of State’s Office, and Forensic Auditor Laquintus Perry of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.