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4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, October 26,2022
Second person arrested in suspected car fraud scheme
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
A California man is now
behind bars in Dawson County
after an alleged scheme with
three others to fraudulently buy
vehicles went awry.
Bradley Scott Wismar, 37, of
Modesto was booked into the
Dawson County Detention
Center on Oct. 12.
Wismar is one of four people
accused of trying to fraudulent
ly obtain vehicles using an
elderly Dawson County cou
ple’s financial information.
In September, the Dawson
County Sheriff’s Office appre
hended Jazmine Ranae
Wheeler, 28, of Sacramento,
for her alleged role in the
scheme.
The other two suspects, who
are also from California, have
been apprehended and are in
Wismar Wheeler
the process of being transported
back to Georgia, Dawson
County Sheriff Jeff Johnson
told DCN in a Sept. 22 email.
As of Oct. 19, Wismar and
Wheeler are both being held at
the jail without bond, although
bond has been requested for
Wheeler.
Accusations
In June, grand jurors in
Dawson County indicted
Wheeler, Brandon Phillip
Raible, Austin William Reid
and Bradley Scott Wismar on
various charges relating to the
allegations, according to
Dawson County Superior Court
documents.
Arrest orders were issued for
each of the defendants back in
July.
The indictment states Wismar
allegedly tried to use that
checking number to obtain a
2020 Toyota Tacoma and also
stole more than $25,000 from
one of the victims on Feb. 13.
Raible is accused of trying to
use one of the victims’ check
ing account number to buy a
BMW X-5 SUV on Feb. 6,
2022, the indictment stated. He
has also been accused of
obtaining one of the victims’
banking account number and
statement on Feb. 23 with the
intent to use that information
fraudulently.
Additionally, Raible and Reid
were both accused in the indict
ment of attempting to use that
same information in order to pur
chase a motorcycle on Feb. 17.
Wheeler allegedly used a vic
tim’s checking information on
Feb. 12 to supposedly write a
counterfeit check of $35,096.57
to CarMax for a 2017 Mercedes
C300 sedan, according to the
indictment and her DCSO war
rants.
Charges
Wismar has been charged
with one count each of identity
fraud, theft by taking and
exploiting an elderly person.
Wheeler received one felony
count each of identity fraud,
criminal attempt to commit theft
by taking and exploiting, threat
ening or intimidating a disabled
or elderly person. She is still
being held at the Dawson
County jail without bond.
DCSO charged Raible with
three counts of identity fraud
and Reid with one count of that
offense.
In his previous email to
DCN, Sheriff Johnson
explained that fraud cases are
“unfortunately becoming more
and more prevalent.”
“Although locally, we do not
experience many cases where
multiple suspects use the same
illegally-obtained information,
it is not a rare occurrence,”
Johnson said.
“Whenever online personal
information is compromised,
there are those who are lying in
wait to take advantage of oth
ers. We urge our community to
take the necessary steps to
guard their information, as well
as continually monitoring it for
any signs of fraudulent activi
ty.”
Photos by Erica Jones Dawson County News
Cars participate in the Saturday morning parade during the 55th annual Mountain Moonshine Festival
on Oct. 22.
FROM 1A
Moonshine
This year’s Grand
Marshal was Donnie
Allison, a NASCAR leg
end who is known for his
role as part of the famous
“Alabama Gang”, a group
of NASCAR drivers out
of Hueytown, Alabama.
As the Grand Marshal,
Allison led the parade on
Saturday morning and
spoke during the opening
ceremonies for the festi
val.
“I wanna thank every
body for coming out and
supporting such a great
cause,” Allison said. “It’s
truly a great experience;
I’m looking at all these
cars up and down both
sides of the parking area
here and what a tremen
dous effort everybody
puts into it.”
Also during the opening
ceremonies, representa
tives from K.A.R.E. for
Kids presented their annu
al Humanitarian Award to
Bobby Benfield, a long
time volunteer with the
festival. The award was
first created to honor
Gordon Pirkle seven years
ago, and each year since
then a new recipient has
been recognized with the
award for their dedication
and love for the festival
and for K.A.R.E. for
Kids.
“Every recipient has
been a pillar of strength in
keeping this event going;
their commitment to work
in support of something
that is so near and dear to
my daddy is truly amaz
ing,” Pirkle’s daughter
and K.A.R.E. for Kids
Board Member Hayley
Garrett said. “This year’s
recipient falls right into
that description — he
arrives early to help park
cars and anything else
that’s asked of him. He
promotes the festival
year-round in his commu
nity, and he always has a
smile on his face. He
loves the festival and
K.A.R.E. for Kids, and
we love him.”
The three newest
inductees to the National
Moonshiners Hall of
Fame were also
announced during the
opening ceremonies, and
representatives for each of
the honorees came for
ward to accept plaques for
the achievement.
This year’s inductees
were Duane “Skeeter”
Fields, Ted Bauguess and
Tommy “Catfish” Davis.
Fields made liquor in
Dawson, Lumpkin and
surrounding counties and
is known as an expert in
making the liquor most
efficiently using less sugar.
Bauguess was from
Traphill, North Carolina,
followed in his father’s
footsteps in the moonshine
business, and was arrested
several times before being
killed in a car crash at only
40 years old.
Davis began making
moonshine as a way to
survive after losing both
of his parents at a young
age and was arrested three
times before he was given
probation to pursue a
career in cutting timber,
but he always found time
to make a little liquor up
until his death in 2013.
The opening ceremo
nies began and ended with
performances by Shyla,
Mila and Lilly Sheffield,
who sang the national
anthem at the beginning
and “Country Roads” at
the end. Faith Thomas
gave the invocation fol
lowing the performance
of the national anthem.
K.A.R.E. for Kids
President Rhonda Evans
thanked all of the many
volunteers who helped to
make this year’s festival
happen, applauding each
of them for their hard
work ahead of and during
the festival.
“Thank you everybody,
from the smallest thing
you do to the greatest, it
takes us all and it’s a joy
just to see it come togeth
er,” Evans said.
For more information
about K.A.R.E. for Kids,
the annual festival, and
how to help support the
nonprofit’s Christmas pro
gram, go to http://www.
kareforkids.org/.
§§M-taMk
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• Early voting: M-F, 8 AM-5 PM, Oct. 17th thru Nov. 4th and
Sat, Oct. 22nd & 29th 9AM-5PM
• Election Day Voting - November 8 7:00AM - 7:00PM
DAWSON COUNTY Election Office, 96 Academy Ave.
(706) 344-3640 phone
Absentee Voting is Oct. 10th thru Oct. 28th
Dawsoncountyga.gov
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Brian Kemp
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ALL THE WAY DOWN THE BALLOT
GOVERNOR
BRIAN KEMP
LT. GOVERNOR
BURT JONES
SECRETARY OF STATE
BRAD RAFFENSPERGER
ATTORNEY GENERAL
CHRIS CARR
US SENATE
HERSCHEL WALKER
US HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES
RICH McCORMICK
COMMISSIONER OF LABOR
BRUCE THOMPSON
COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE
TYLER HARPER
STATE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
RICHARD WOODS
STATE SENATE DISTRICT 51
STEVE GOOCH
STATE HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 9
WILL WADE
Paid for by:
DAWSON COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR CONSTRUCTION
OF WATER SUPPLY WELL
FOR THE CITY OF DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA
Sealed proposals will be received the City of Dawsonville, Georgia at the Dawsonville
City Hall, 415 Highway 53 East, Suite 100, Dawsonville, Georgia 30534 until 1:00
p.m. local time, Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at which time and place they will be
publicly opened and read. No submitted bid may be withdrawn after the scheduled
closing time for receipt of bids for a period of 90 days.
All Bidders must have a State of Georgia Well Drillers License and be a member of
the Georgia Water Well Drillers Association.
The work to be done consists of furnishing all materials, equipment and labor for
the construction of:
Construction of a 6-inch test well, 8-inch production
well, 72-hour aquifer test and abandonment as needed.
Time allotted for construction is 90 consecutive calendar days for substantial
completion and 120 days for final completion.
Proposals for the complete work in one general contract shall be made on the proposal
form provided and shall contain prices in words and figures for the work bid on.
All proposals shall be accompanied by a Bid Bond drawn in favor of the City of
Dawsonville, Georgia, in the amount of at least 10% of the lump sum bid for the
complete work; such Bid Bond representing that the Bidder, if awarded the contract,
will promptly enter into a contract and furnish Performance Bond and Payment
Bond as provided by law and approved by the Attorney for the City of Dawsonville,
Georgia. Each bond shall be equal to 100% of the contract amount. The Bid Bond
shall be forfeited to the City of Dawsonville, Georgia as liquidated damages if the
Bidder fails to execute the contract and provide Performance and Payment Bonds
within 10 days after being notified that he has been awarded the contract.
Bidding documents are open to public inspection at the office of the City of Dawsonville,
Georgia and at the offices of Turnipseed Engineers in Augusta and Atlanta, Georgia.
Copies of the bidding documents must be obtained from Turnipseed Engineers,
2255 Cumberland Parkway, Building 400, Atlanta, Georgia 30339, upon receipt of
$75.00.
Digital copies of the documents are not available.
GBT/DOC MCS 04/22 AB-1 ADVERTISEMENT FORBIDS
Dawsonville/212468
Upon receipt of all documents in undamaged condition within 30 days after the date
of opening of bids, half of the deposit will be refunded.
The difference between the deposit and the amount refunded represents the cost
of reproduction. No refund will be made for documents receive after 30 days or in
damaged condition.
The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive informalities.
DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA
fohn Walden, Mayor Pro-Tem
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
GBT/DOC MCS 04/22
Dawsonville/212468
AB-2
