Former Georgia Lottery official files whistleblower lawsuit

Apr 25, 2015, 6:28 pm (13 comments)

Georgia Lottery

A former top finance official with the Georgia Lottery has filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming that he was fired after refusing to present inflated sales projections.

Kenneth Knight, former vice president for financial management at the Georgia Lottery, names the lottery and its president, Debbie Alford, in the lawsuit.

Knight argues that he was pressured by Alford and his boss to present the lottery board with flawed sales projections in April 2014. Knight says in the lawsuit that he told his boss about problems with the numbers, but that they were presented to the board anyway.

About a week after the board meeting, Knight says he was terminated from his job "because of events that took place in March and April of 2014 during the budget process which resulted in misleading information being distributed to our CEO and board of directors," the lawsuit says.

Knight says he was fired to shift blame and cover up the fact that Alford knowingly presented the board with inflated figures, "an act by her that is both unethical and illegal, and which was motivated solely by unlawful political influence."

State records show Knight earned $132,000 from the Lottery in fiscal 2014, his last full year with the games. Alford was Gov. Nathan Deal's budget director before becoming Georgia Lottery president in 2012.

Joseph Kim, senior vice president and general counsel for the Lottery, said, "The lawsuit is baseless and we look forward to defending the case in court.

"The plaintiff and his lawyer gave the Lottery the opportunity in August 2014 to avoid 'inevitable media attention' if we paid them $500,000," Kim said. "We declined then and we decline now to pay ANY money because the case is not about retaliation but about an employee who could not satisfactorily perform in a new job into which he was promoted."

Knight's lawyer is Kim Worth, who also brought the whistleblower lawsuit for former ethics chief Stacey Kalberman, who claimed she was unfairly forced from her post for investigating ethics complaints against Deal too aggressively. A jury awarded Kalberman more than $1 million after a weeklong trial.

The state also recently settled another lawsuit brought by a Worth client. The state agreed to pay $480,000 to Mary Therese Grabowski, who filed a lawsuit in 2014 alleging that she was forced from her job as a spokeswoman at the Georgia National Guard after she said she refused to cover for then-Adjutant General Jim Butterworth's "unethical and inappropriate conduct." The Guard said that the settlement included no admission of wrongdoing.

The state has settled at least four lawsuits against top Georgia officials in the past year, including a payment of about $2 million in June to come to terms with three former state ethics staffers who claimed they were improperly threatened for too vigorously investigating claims against Deal.

Thanks to ELUCKYDREAM* for the tip.

AJC

Comments

music*'s avatarmusic*

 Like it says in the Bible," Everything comes out in the light" nothing is hidden that God does not know.Blue Angel

mypiemaster's avatarmypiemaster

Man, these lottery guys are just tripping all over themselves lately.

music*'s avatarmusic*

 When light it shown onto roaches they scurry back to the darkness.  The Freedom of the Press is the light .

noise-gate

Quote: Originally posted by music* on Apr 25, 2015

 When light it shown onto roaches they scurry back to the darkness.  The Freedom of the Press is the light .

So l gather by your statement that you implying Debbie & Alford are Roaches?

 

  • Todd must have been an extra on the " fast & The Furious" cause these news pieces are accelerating...
  • First the Parsleys- Then the Con Man from NY... Now this, all within 24 hours.
fbird's avatarfbird

Quote: Originally posted by music* on Apr 25, 2015

 When light it shown onto roaches they scurry back to the darkness.  The Freedom of the Press is the light .

Really ? Then was the PRESS awake during the misgivings of Obama, reid , peloski and hillary....LOL !!!

noise-gate

Quote: Originally posted by fbird on Apr 25, 2015

Really ? Then was the PRESS awake during the misgivings of Obama, reid , peloski and hillary....LOL !!!

Or Perhaps we need to INVADE Iraq because of  those WMD stockpiles that could end up on our shores..huh Bird?

music*'s avatarmusic*

 Noise-gate & fbird  , You now have a bully pulpit to exercise freedom of speech and the press.

 Of course you do remember yellow journalism and how William Randolph Hearst said,"I will give you the support of the people and you can have your Spanish-American War."

 There is bias in us all. Plus racism. and on and on ...Cheers

fbird's avatarfbird

Quote: Originally posted by noise-gate on Apr 25, 2015

Or Perhaps we need to INVADE Iraq because of  those WMD stockpiles that could end up on our shores..huh Bird?

geez, that one was a no brainer..the press was all over that one and they should have been, no matter the political agenda. Bush and his regime was dead wrong. But this bunch, there is no accountability

fbird's avatarfbird

Quote: Originally posted by music* on Apr 25, 2015

 Noise-gate & fbird  , You now have a bully pulpit to exercise freedom of speech and the press.

 Of course you do remember yellow journalism and how William Randolph Hearst said,"I will give you the support of the people and you can have your Spanish-American War."

 There is bias in us all. Plus racism. and on and on ...Cheers

Really ?

noise-gate

Quote: Originally posted by music* on Apr 25, 2015

 Noise-gate & fbird  , You now have a bully pulpit to exercise freedom of speech and the press.

 Of course you do remember yellow journalism and how William Randolph Hearst said,"I will give you the support of the people and you can have your Spanish-American War."

 There is bias in us all. Plus racism. and on and on ...Cheers

Calm Down music.. You went From the Bible to God, to Light, the Press and roaches. Don't you think you have enough on your plate to sort out instead of going after Bird and myself?

Live and let live.

Technut's avatarTechnut

From what i read here there seems to be a problem within the lottery in Iowa. Once they goto court we shall see what happens and if the plantiff's case holds water or not.

Raven62's avatarRaven62

Quote: Originally posted by fbird on Apr 25, 2015

Really ? Then was the PRESS awake during the misgivings of Obama, reid , peloski and hillary....LOL !!!

Lack of Media Coverage Shows that the Media is Part of the Cover Up!

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

Quote: Originally posted by Raven62 on Apr 26, 2015

Lack of Media Coverage Shows that the Media is Part of the Cover Up!

Well, Raven62, that's because the more powerful [more viewers] media has always been part of political and economic health-score cover ups.  This has always been true in every country.  The press is usually in the same stride, only on a lesser basis [less viewers].  Thus, Local and Federal Government and the press are a flaw that will probably never cease to exist. 

This why most intelligent and prudent life coaches immediately recommend ceasing daily distraction observation/use of the press, media, and political events/reports.  Next, the life coaches are able to re-direct their clients into increasing daily hours of: self small-business work, sleep, hygiene, medium-level exercise, household chores/errand, safest investing, and budgeting.  After all, there are only 24 hours in a day, small-business people sleep about 7.5 hours a day, work about 9 hours a day, 6 days a week.  Best to set priorities of client's attentions from the beginning of the coaching relationship.

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