PICKENS COUNTY, Ga — A former Georgia school superintendent and his wife have been sentenced on racketeering and theft charges after they stole more than $100,000 in cash from a gun range they co-owned.
Carlton and Cindy Wilson were arrested in April 2022 after the sheriff’s office executed a search warrant on their home.
According to an affidavit, the Wilsons ran the day-to-day operations of the Appalachian Gun Range. The sheriff’s investigation found that on at least seven occasions, Cindy Wilson wrote checks from the business’s account to either herself or her husband.
On Nov. 30, 2022, the Wilsons pled guilty to these charges.
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On Feb. 15, Carlton Wilson was sentenced to 15 years, with the first three years to be served in prison and the remainder on probation. Cindy Wilson was sentenced to 15 years, with the first two years to be served in prison and the remainder on probation.
Together, the Wilsons were also ordered to pay restitution of $95,802.02 to the Boy Scouts, the Pickens County Government, and the Appalachian Gun Range.
“Carlton and Cindy Wilson stole from the pockets of hardworking Georgians, and now they will spend time in prison for their illegal actions,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. “This final outcome is a major victory for all those who fell victim to the couple’s fraudulent schemes, from a Boy Scout Troop to a pair of local business owners. Theft and deception of any kind will not be tolerated, and we are proud to have brought this case to court so we could put a stop to this criminal activity.”
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The checks ranged from $1,329 to $21,972, totaling over $60,000. Cindy Wilson asked a business that the company sold shells and casings to if they would write her personal checks that totaled over $12,000, according to the sheriff’s office.
The couple also kept all the cash proceeds from the business during 2021, which amounted to more than $40,000.
Carlton Wilson was separately indicted on six counts of theft by taking by a fiduciary and one count of theft by deception. Cindy Wilson was also separately indicted on one count of tampering with evidence, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Carlton Wilson was the superintendent of Pickens County Schools from May 2017 through December 2019.
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