Records detail alleged $197,000 email scheme involving Beaufort County communications manager
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
An incident report obtained directly from the Covington, Ga., Police Department provides new details about the felony case against Beaufort County Communications Manager Laura Fanelli, including allegations that she used a fraudulent email account to divert a $197,000 payment intended for a Louisiana company.
Fanelli, 62, is charged in Newton County, Ga., with one count of felony theft by deception and one count of computer theft. She has not been indicted, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
The Island News obtained the incident report from the Covington Police Department through a request made under the Georgia Open Records Act.
Georgia’s Open Records Act serves generally the same purpose as the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, commonly called FOIA – both state laws provide the public and news organizations with a process for obtaining records from state and local government agencies, subject to certain exemptions.
The federal Freedom of Information Act is a separate law that applies to records held by federal agencies.
According to the Covington Police Department report, investigators allege Fanelli gained access to the email account of an executive at U.S. Rotors and created a fraudulent account with a very similar email address.
Several messages were allegedly exchanged between the fraudulent account and Innovative Air Technologies before the company initiated a $197,000 Automated Clearing House transfer, commonly known as an ACH transfer, the report states.
The payment was intended for U.S. Rotors, described in the police report as an Innovative Air Technologies sister company that had recently begun operating in Louisiana.
Innovative Air Technologies is a Covington-based manufacturer of commercial dehumidification equipment. According to the company’s website, it was founded in 2001 and produces commercial desiccant dehumidification systems.
The alleged fraud occurred between April 20 and April 22 and was reported to Covington police April 30 after the money did not appear in the U.S. Rotors account, according to the incident report.
That timeline differs from the April 1 offense date listed in the Newton County Superior Court record. The records currently available to The Island News do not explain the discrepancy.
The Covington Police Department advised The Island News to direct requests for the arrest warrants, supporting affidavits, booking documents and other records to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office. Those records have been requested under the Georgia Open Records Act.
Attorney enters case
New Superior Court filings show attorney Samuel M. Barth entered an appearance on Fanelli’s behalf July 22.
Barth also filed a demand for discovery notifying prosecutors that Fanelli had elected to participate in reciprocal discovery under Georgia law. A certificate of service states that the discovery demand, entry of appearance and an accompanying notice of counsel’s planned absences were served electronically on the Newton County District Attorney’s Office.
A demand for discovery is a routine pretrial filing through which the defense seeks evidence held by prosecutors and agrees to provide certain evidence to the state. It is not a plea or a determination of guilt.
The case remains listed in Newton County Superior Court as an unindicted felony matter.
Bond set at $25,000
The newly obtained court records also clarify the circumstances surrounding Fanelli’s release from the Newton County Detention Center.
A first-appearance form dated June 29 identifies the pending charges as theft by deception and computer theft. The form notes that Fanelli had hired an attorney and invoked her right to counsel, causing additional substantive proceedings to be suspended until counsel could be present.
A second first-appearance order dated July 1 set Fanelli’s bond at a total of $25,000; $10,000 on the theft-by-deception charge and $15,000 on the computer-theft charge.
The order required Fanelli to sign a waiver of extradition before leaving the jail. It also stated that she was not to leave Newton County except for scheduled meetings with her attorney and court appearances.
A Newton County Sheriff’s Office bond form lists a $25,000 bond, along with fees and assessments bringing the total obligation shown on the document to $27,700. The form was approved July 1.
Newton County jail officials previously confirmed to The Island News that Fanelli was released July 2.
The July 1 court order lists a committal hearing for July 29. However, the form also states that a committal hearing would not be held following a defendant’s release on bond unless the bond included special conditions and the defendant submitted a written request for a hearing.
The publicly available records do not indicate that such a request has been filed.
Arrest, transfer to Georgia
Fanelli was arrested by the Beaufort Police Department at approximately 3:55 p.m. June 22 on a fugitive-from-justice warrant issued from Georgia, according to Beaufort County Detention Center records.
She remained in custody in Beaufort County until June 27, when she was transferred to the Newton County Detention Center.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division spokesperson Renée Wunderlich previously confirmed that SLED assisted the Covington Police Department in locating Fanelli in Beaufort County.
The Newton County Superior Court received the felony warrants June 29.
Beaufort County placed Fanelli on administrative leave without pay effective June 22, pending an investigation.
“We have complied with all law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation and will continue to do so,” Beaufort County Public Information Officer Hannah Nichols said in a previous statement to The Island News. “We trust the judicial process to take its course, but are unable to comment further.”
Fanelli joined Beaufort County in 2018 after previously working as communications manager for Newton County.
As Beaufort County’s communications manager, Fanelli works under the direction of Nichols, the county’s public information officer. Her responsibilities have included creating, writing and publishing information for the public and news media, promoting county services, programs and events, and assisting with crisis communications.
In 2020, Fanelli was placed on paid administrative leave after thousands of social-media posts attributed to her resurfaced publicly. Many of the posts predated her employment with Beaufort County and included profanity and commentary about politics, race, religion and the COVID-19 pandemic.
County officials ultimately determined that the posts did not violate county policy because they were made before Fanelli began working for the county. She returned to work after the investigation.
Fanelli is presumed innocent unless and until she is proven guilty.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.