Georgia labor commissioner slams his predecessor’s handling of $105M in state money

State Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson said his office has found more than $105 million in funds that should have been turned over to state and federal treasuries.

During a press conference Thursday, Thompson described how his office found the unremitted dollars during a comprehensive internal audit.

He said those funds from administrative fees and penalties have now been turned over to the state Department of Treasury as the law requires.

The investigation into the funds is ongoing, he said, and he had harsh words for his predecessor.

“The full impact of this alleged fraudulent activity has yet to be completely realized, as several important files and records are missing or unavailable,“ Thompson said. “It appears evident that several state and federal statutes have been violated by this previous administration.”

He said his investigations continue.

In response, former labor commissioner Mark Butler issued the following statement:

“There is no investigation by the AG's office. And he did not find these monies through an audit. He was informed by staff that these monies existed, which were handled properly according to legal counsel at DOL during my tenure. This is nothing but political theater based on his personal vendetta against me, which amounts to a gross abuse of power to intimidate his political enemies. Mr. Thompson is currently being sued in civil court for similar actions on his part. He previously accused a political enemy of being implicated in human trafficking, which was also false. This a disturbing trend coming from somebody in a statewide office.”

GPB News is awaiting responses to the allegations from Attorney General Chris Carr and Gov. Brian Kemp.