PANAMA CITY — The former executive administrative assistant to the Bay County Commission has been arrested on grand theft charges after allegedly obtaining $48,830 from the county by providing false information.
Gina Rena Gainey, 43, of 304 Odom Road, Chipley, was arrested after a county investigation found she allegedly falsified grades in county-funded classes, bolstering the amount she received.
Gainey could not be reached for comment Friday.
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County spokeswoman Valerie Sale said because it is an active investigation she could not comment. Before the investigation, Gainey resigned from her position as the executive assistant to both the Bay County Commission and the assistant county manager.
“It is with deepest regrets that I am writing this letter,” Gainey wrote to the county’s Human Resources Department on Sept. 24. “Please accept this as an official letter of resignation effective Nov. 1, 2014 due to my health.”
The arrest report states county Human Resources Director Amy Cooper learned through casual conversations with other county employees that Gainey may have falsified information on her employment application.
“Upon verifying that information, they discovered that Ms. Gainey had been fired from a previous job, never listed that employer on her references, and stated on her employment application that she had never been fired.”
County officials then learned Gainey had been fired from a company called BetterBuilt in 2006.
“Gina Gainey’s employment was terminated upon discovery that funds had been embezzled from BetterBuilt,” an agreement for release of liability dated March 25, 2006, and provided to Bay County officials states. “Gina Gainey does admit that she embezzled the funds from BetterBuilt.”
The agreement states the amount owed to BetterBuilt was $200,000.
The county subsequently conducted a review of all financial transactions Gainey had conducted while employed by Bay County.
Investigators later discovered that between June 2008 and August 2012, Gainey had been taking online courses through Birmingham, Ala.-based Virginia College, the arrest report states, and was paid for multiple classes she never took.
“A check with the college showed that Ms. Gainey changed some of her grades, thus affecting the percentage she was reimbursed [by Bay County] for those classes. Additionally, it was determined that after completing her associate degree, Ms. Gainey did enroll (into) the college in 2010 and continues to submit false grade reports and transcripts, eventually claiming she completed her bachelor’s degree.”
The county’s investigation also determined Gainey received compensation from the Veterans Administration, a scholarship from her husband’s branch of military service and Pell grants, the arrest report states.
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“None of these documents have been provided as of this writing from Virginia College, and this would affect the total amount of money Ms. Gainey should have received from the county as she claimed no outside sources of money for her classes,” the report states.
Gainey received a nearly perfect job performance review in her most recent evaluation, earning top grades in dependability, interpersonal skills, teamwork and acceptance of job instructions and responsibilities.
“Gina can be depended upon to do her job, and consistently go beyond expectation,” the review stated. “She is very accomplished at dealing with a variety of citizen types.”