Former Augusta County supervisor faces credit-card theft charges

Former Augusta County Supervisor Terry Kelley has been indicted on 22 charges including credit-card theft, fraud and forgery following an investigation into the unauthorized use of a fuel card assigned to the Augusta County Fire Department.

Kelley, 54, resigned his Beverley Manor District seat on the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 26. Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith said Friday that the sheriff’s office began investigating Kelley on Oct. 31.

The fuel card had been assigned to the Augusta County Fire Department Company 10 for use for an antique 1941 fire engine, a display truck that had been out of service and in a local repair shop since September 2017.

The initial incident triggering the investigation involved the use of the fuel card in Florida on Oct. 29. That transaction did not involve Kelley, a volunteer with Company 10, but in the course of the investigation, it was determined that the card had been used regularly at gas stations in the area dating back to the fall of 2017.

According to Smith, more than $4,000 was charged to the fuel card between the fall of 2017 and the Oct. 27 incident that triggered the investigation.

Investigators with the sheriff’s office reviewed video footage of transactions, and determined that it was Kelley who was using the card, making fuel purchases for his personally-owned vehicles.

A special prosecutor was appointed to review the case, and on Dec. 20, a special grand jury indicted Kelley on one count of credit-card theft, one count of credit-card fraud and 20 counts of credit-card forgery.

“The outcome of this investigation will be a disappointment to the citizens of Augusta County,” Smith said.

Augusta County Administrator Tim Fitzgerald, in a statement, said the county “is shocked and disappointed in the news that former board member Mr. Terry Lee Kelley Jr. is involved in the unauthorized use of one of the county’s fuel cards.”

“We trust that the judicial process will ensure a complete resolution to this unfortunate situation,” Fitzgerald said.