ATLANTA — At first glance, Tim Holt looks like the average college student on the campus of Athens Tech. He's studying anatomy and microbiology. But those intro level courses do look strange for someone who already claims to be a veterinarian.
David Cantrell is a close friend of Holt's. He said he knows his friend isn't a vet, and started asking questions about Holt's job.
"I picked up on a few lies, not made to cover up anything, but they were just kind of compulsive lies."
For the last four years, Holt worked as a veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Your tax dollars paid for him to supervise dozens of employees, and inspect food processing plants around Georgia to make sure the animals were healthy and the food supply safe.
"He's never been to vet schools, he's read book and gone to some seminars and listened," Cantrell said. "I don't know that you would feel safe if I were inspecting your food supply, and I'm just as qualified as he is."
Ken Berkholtz recruits veterinarians for companies around the country. He got Tim Holt's first resume for a job back in 2004. We asked him how many items on that resume were untrue. "The majority. Out of maybe 10 items, he probably lied on 8 of them."
READ: Tim Holt's 'Missouri' Resume Tim Holt 'Auburn Resume 2
The company hired Tim, but fired him after three months saying his skills didn't back his credentials. His resume claims a D.M.V. and a Ph.D. from Auburn University. He had even named himself Georgia Veterinarian of the Year.
SEE: Real Veterinarian Of The Year List
"They confronted him and he didn't deny anything, so they just terminated him," Berkholtz said.
Then in 2009, Tim sent Ken his most recent resume. Ken remembered the name and checked the files.
"He changed his resume considerably. (He) no longer had gotten his degree from Auburn. It was Missouri now."
Someone named Tim Holt did graduate from the University of Missouri Veterinarian School, but that was before this Tim Holt was born.
We confronted Holt on the campus of Athens Tech. He wouldn't answer any of our repeated questions.
David Cantrell also found a University of Georgia letterhead, addressed to Dr. Timothy Holt, Class of 2002. The fax number listed to verify his education, rings in Tim's home office in Athens.
Cantrell called the USDA several times, but says no one wanted to hear the truth. So he called Channel 2. We shared his records with a criminal investigator. Now the federal agency won't show us Holt's job application, saying it would jeopardize their investigation.
"Once is a wake up call, oh my gosh I shouldn't do this," Cantrell said. "Twice is just brazen. Then to continue doing it? There's no question he's going to do it again."
WSBTV
