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Henry County commissioner accused of residency fraud

MCDONOUGH, Ga. -- Some Henry County taxpayers are accusing a county commissioner of moving to Tennessee, but still serving as a commissioner in Henry County and collecting a $35,00 salary and benefits.
Commissioner Brian Preston says his house on Avery Drive is his primary residence but some Henry County residents are challenging him in court.

MCDONOUGH, Ga. -- Some Henry County taxpayers are accusing a county commissioner of moving to Tennessee, but still serving as a commissioner in Henry County and collecting a $35,00 salary and benefits.

Commissioner Brian Preston says his house on Avery Drive is his primary residence but some Henry County residents are challenging him in court.

Barbara Torrbet says she’s been gathering evidence for months. She doesn’t believe the District 2 commissioner’s claims that he divides his time between a house in Franklin, Tenn. and the Locust Grove home.

For one thing, real estate ads indicate the Locust Grove house is on the market with few furnishings and no refrigerator and scheduled for sale next month.

Torbett, along with the watchdog group Ethics in Government, also obtained Preston’s cell phone records from the county. They indicate out of 76 outgoing calls made on his county cell phone from September through December of 2015, only nine originated in Georgia; 67 were calls from Tennessee. And this year, as of April, he’s made 37 calls from Georgia and 68 from Tennessee.

The government watchdogs have requested a board of elections hearing Thursday to try prove Preston isn’t even qualified to vote in the county, and certainly shouldn’t be a commissioner making $35,000 a year plus benefits

“He chose to move and that’s his right but he doesn’t have a right to receive money from Henry and not be representing Henry County every day,” Larry Morey of Ethics in Government.

In an email, Preston disputes their claims. He said he owns property in several places but Locust Grove is his home. A neighbor who came by the house while 11Alive was there there insisted Preston does live there and says there is some furniture.

The Board of Elections hearing will be Thursday at 10 a.m.

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