Photo: USCIS

Photo: WCSO.

The below complaint was sent to the Whitfield County Sheriff office this AM. I have recieved confirmation of receipt.

Complaint      #2 of 2. Complaint #1 here.

Re: Possible violations

 OCGA 36-60-6 & OCGA 16-10-20   

To: Scott Chitwood

Sheriff, Whitfield County Georgia

*Please note that throughout this complaint I have inserted hyperlinks to evidence and facts that make the issue much easier to understand and to save time for investigators.

Sheriff Chitwood,

Please regard this as an official complaint against Dalton business owner State Rep Kasey Carpenter alleging possible violations of OCGA 36-60-1 (E-Verify requirement for private employers) and OCGA 16-10-20 (Filing false documents) and a request for an investigation by the GBI.

In my own educated but obviously unofficial investigation of the workings of the City of Dalton’s Occupational Tax Certificate (OTC) office (please see complaint #1), I obtained various documents through open records requests on two Dalton businesses, Oakwood Café and Cherokee Brewing and Pizza (Cherokee Brewing LLC). The purpose of accessing these documents was to understand the system in place for administering public benefits, specifically OTCs and to compare the operation and documents used to clear mandates in state law.

As can be seen in my other recent complaint (#1 of 2), I found multiple actions that I believe are illegal and require official investigation and possible prosecution.

In reviewing the copies of OTC applications and affidavits, I noted that on the November 2014 application for the City of Dalton to issue an OTC for the year 2015, owner Kasey Carpenter completed a notarized affidavit attesting to use of the federal E-Verify program, entered the unique user/ID number issued to his business by USCIS and entered “11-11-’14 as the date of authorization to use E-Verify.

The service provided by USCIS to track E-Verify users (“How to Find Participating Employers”) shows that Oakwood Cafe was authorized to use E-Verify on 1/19/12.

Clearly stated, the dates do not match on a very important document that serves as evidence of eligibility for Oakwood Café to be issued an Occupational Tax Certificate which is required to do business lawfully in Dalton, GA.

My open records request included a time frame of 1 July 2012 to 15 September 2020. It did not produce any copies of any documents from the Dalton OTC office for Oakwood Cafe completed in 2013 for the OTC to be issued for 2014. I am informed that Oakwood Café has been in business since 2004. As I noted on complaint #1, this seems to indicate that although it was apparently diong (doing) business, Oakwood Café was not issued an OTC for 2014.

There may be an easy answer to this confusion of which I am not aware.

—> Cherokee Brewing and Pizza – (Cherokee Brewing LLC)

Much more concerning is the fact that in reviewing the copies of documents sent by the Dalton OTC office, Kasey Carpenter, an owner of Cherokee Brewing and Pizza signed an affidavit attesting to use of the E-Verify, entered the date of authorization to use the system as “9/15/’19” and did not enter the required user/ID number of the E-Verify system which is assigned by the USCIS.

Apparently the OTC office in Dalton accepted this illegal affidavit (see complaint #1) without it being notarized.

The USCIS tracking database for E-Verify users (How to Find Participating Employers) does not produce records of any authorization for Cherokee Brewing and Pizza or Cherokee Brewing Co. or Cherokee Brewing LLC to use E-Verify.

–> Stated more clearly, in applying to obtain an OTC, owner and applicant for the OTC, Rep Kasey Carpenter says Cherokee Brewing has been authorized to use E-Verify since Sept 15, 2019. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services says they have no record of that authorization.

It should be noted that according to the state law on private employers use of E-verify for employers with more than ten employees. Cherokee Brewing has completed documents for a Dalton OTC reporting more than ten employees since 2018.

OCGA 36-6-6:

• Every private employer with more than ten employees shall register with and utilize the federal work authorization program, as defined by Code Section 13-10-90. The requirements of this subsection shall be effective on January 1, 2012, as to employers with 500 or more employees, on July 1, 2012, as to employers with 100 or more employees but fewer than 500 employees, and on July 1, 2013, as to employers with more than ten employees but fewer than 100 employees. *Emphasis mine – dak.

The copies of all documents sent to me by the City of Dalton for Cherokee Brewing and Pizza can be seen here. For Oakwood Café, here.

I want to be clear that I hope I am mistaken in wondering if a state legislator and Dalton business owner has misrepresented his use of E-Verify or violated state law to obtain the OTC required to operate business lawfully.

OCGA 36-60-6(h) Any person presenting false or misleading evidence of state licensure shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any government official or employee knowingly acting in violation of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; provided, however, that any person who knowingly submits a false or misleading affidavit pursuant to this Code section shall be guilty of submitting a false document in violation of Code Section 16-10-20

(j) The Attorney General shall be authorized to conduct an investigation and bring any criminal or civil action he or she deems necessary to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Code section…. During the course of any investigation of violations of this Code section, the Attorney General shall also investigate potential violations of Code Section 16-9-121.1 by employees that may have led to violations of this Code section.

—>Filing false documents is a serious violation under OCGA 16-10-20, which I respectfully paste below to eliminate confusion:

§ 16-10-20.1. Filing false documents

(a) As used in this Code section, the term “document” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form and shall include, but shall not be limited to, liens, encumbrances, documents of title, instruments relating to a security interest in or title to real or personal property, or other records, statements, or representations of fact, law, right, or opinion. 

(b) Notwithstanding Code Sections 16-10-20 and 16-10-71, it shall be unlawful for any person to: 

(1) Knowingly file, enter, or record any document in a public record or court of this state or of the United States knowing or having reason to know that such document is false or contains a materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or 

(2) Knowingly alter, conceal, cover up, or create a document and file, enter, or record it in a public record or court of this state or of the United States knowing or having reason to know that such document has been altered or contains a materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation. 

(c) Any person who violates subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than one nor more than ten years, a fine not to exceed $10,000.00, or both. 

(d) This Code section shall not apply to a court clerk, registrar of deeds, or any other government employee who is acting in the course of his or her official duties.

 I ask that you forward my complaint to Director Vic Reynolds and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Sheriff Chitwood, on a personal note, as a 68 year-old former Marine, grandson of a police officer (Detroit Police Academy, class of 1928) and someone who has devoted the last seventeen years of his life to actively advocating for immigration enforcement, please accept my sincere gratitude for the courageous job you and your deputies and staff do for Whitfield County and Georgia.

At our house we respect and support law enforcement officers and pray for your safety.

Also, I have been an advocate for 287(g) since 2004 and am proud to have assisted in implementing the lifesaving 287(g) program in Gwinnett County. Please know the high level of admiration we have for you for your participation in that commonsense program.

I apologize for the length of this complaint. Please know that I have spent many hours on research and in compiling the information gathered. I was closely involved in the creation of the laws cited here and have great interest in seeing them actually enforced.

Respectfully submitted,

D.A. King

Marietta, GA. 30066