GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News had the only camera in court when a man accused of running a bogus college scholarship business made a brief appearance.
Adrian Davis was the last defendant to enter the Gwinnett County courtroom for first appearances.
He sat for just a few minutes before making a quick exit. The judge told Channel 2's
Kerry Kavanaugh that Davis requested to meet with him outside of a public courtroom and away from the camera.
Duluth police said Davis promised high school athletes and their parents he could help pave the way to full scholarships, but they believe the Dacula man's business Sports Solutions of America made false promises.
"We lost $300. Thank goodness that was all it was," said Jackson County father Olin Dillard.
Dillard said Davis approached his family after a Mother's Day service at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville.
He said Davis asked about his son Micah, a high school senior and football player.
Dillard said Davis offered to market Micah to area colleges for free.
"He just offered to provide this service, recruit Micah and introduce him to several schools around the area as a Mother's Day gift to my wife."
But Dillard said the gift soon came with a $300 price tag. After that, he said communication with Davis was limited.
"My wife tried several times to email him. Then, he wanted us to fax him some stuff and the faxes never went through," Dillard said.
Duluth police said they began investigating Davis when his former employees came to them claiming they had not been paid for several weeks of work in early August. Since then, police said all 28 of his Georgia employees have quit and turned to police, along with several former clients.
Calls to Davis' attorney were not immediately returned on Friday. Davis declined a request for an interview within Gwinnett County Jail.
Investigators said Sports Solutions of America wasn't properly registered with the city or the state.
We checked online records with the Secretary of State's office. It appears Davis did register the business in 2008, but the state dissolved it 2010. Davis didn't apply to have the business reinstated until two weeks ago. That is about the same time police began their investigation.
Davis is charged with theft by deception and theft of services. The judge set his bond at $112,600.
WSBTV
