Atlanta gets $84K from insurance for ex-official’s misuse of government credit card

“We’ve never been able to collect on a sanction of this amount in the history of the ethics office,” said Sengova, who credited attorney Tres Indermark for representing the city in this matter.

The amount given to the city was a little more than the amount Beard was ordered to pay in restitution, which was $84,322, Sengova said. She said the Governing Board’s attorney delivered the check to the Ethics Division on April 5, and the check was deposited into the city’s General Fund account.

“We do not anticipate collecting the remaining $18,485 in sanctions and the Beard matter is hereby now closed,” Sengova said via email.

The Atlanta Ethics Division filed its complaint after the AJC and Channel 2 Action News reported in 2018 that Beard, Reed and members of Reed’s cabinet racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable charges on airfare, luxury hotels and high-end restaurants across the globe.

Federal investigators have also scrutinized travel and other spending records at City Hall as part of a multi-year corruption investigation. Beard is now under federal indictment for fraud and weapons charges, and has pleaded not guilty.