Forsyth County man faces 843 more fraud counts in Hall case

A Forsyth County man is now accused of a far larger fraud scheme than investigators first described, with 843 additional counts added to a Hall County case tied to Oakwood Arrow Auto Auction. Michael Chad Evans, 46, of Cumming, first went to jail on April 16 after Hall County investigators said he used a company credit card for personal money-order purchases.

What began as 36 counts of unauthorized use of a financial transaction card and one count of theft by conversion has grown into an investigation that spans back to May 2024, according to investigators. They now believe more than $420,000 in fraudulent money orders were deposited into Evans’s bank account, and earlier estimates put the overall theft at more than $700,000 because he had possessed the card since December 2023.

Evans was arrested again on Sunday, June 7, on 843 additional counts of financial transaction card fraud. By Monday afternoon, June 8, he remained in the Hall County Jail without bond. After the April arrest, he had been held on a $221,900 bond.

The case has a straightforward local lesson for Forsyth County households and small businesses: watch for small, repeated charges that turn into large losses over time, especially cash-equivalent transactions such as money orders. Hall County investigators said company officials first raised concerns to a deputy working an extra-duty role for the business, a reminder that fraud often comes to light only after someone inside the workplace notices a pattern and speaks up.

Georgia law treats unauthorized use of a financial transaction card as a felony when a person uses an entrusted card for an unauthorized purpose, and theft by conversion covers property lawfully obtained but later knowingly turned to personal use. For consumers, credit-card billing errors generally must be disputed within 60 days of the statement date, while unauthorized debit-card transfers should be reported within 60 calendar days after the statement is sent.

Hall County officials say the sheriff’s office provides full law-enforcement services to more than 184,000 residents across 394 square miles, a scale that shows how quickly a single trusted card can grow into a countywide financial crime case.