Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE -- A former Lawrenceville probation officer has been charged with bilking probationers of thousands in court fees and accepting a bribe, records show.

Carl Bolus, 32, is jailed in Gwinnett without bond on felony charges of bribery and theft by deception. He's the former assistant branch manager for a Sentinel Offender Services office in Lawrenceville.

The Lawrenceville branch provides probation and electronic monitoring services for Gwinnett County Recorder's Court.

According to Lawrenceville police, Bolus is suspected in a series of thefts between October 2010 and June 2011 that resulted in losses of more than $4,600.

The office manager came forward to police in December when "irregularities in accounting" were noticed for payments made by probationers who reported to Bolus, a police report states.

In one instance, investigators found that Bolus asked a probationer to leave the pay field blank on a $1,000 check that he promised to take to the court but never did. Later, he accepted $2,700 cash from another probationer and did not apply it to fees and fines the probationer owed, according to Bolus's arrest warrants.

Bolus is also charged with accepting a cash bribe from a probationer to make it falsely appear that a Work Alternative Program had been completed as a condition of probation, the warrants state.

It's unclear what repercussions, if any, probationers suffered because of Bolus's alleged actions.

Tim Lewis, vice president of Sentinel Offender Services' Georgia Operations, said the company will not comment on the case until it's finalized.

Bolus is listed in jail records as an Anchorage, Ala. resident. Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter said his office extradited Bolus from Alaska on the local charges.

Bolus's preliminary hearing is set for March 28, Porter said.