April 18th, 2022 – 3:40 PM
Gordon County Sheriff’s Office –
On Thursday, Sheriff’s Detective Kenneth Hollaran received an official commendation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for his work on a criminal case that he initiated in 2019. The case, which was begun in Gordon County and subsequently adopted by the FBI, involved the large-scale theft of heavy construction equipment by a ring operating out of the Georgia prison system. The ‘scam’ consisted of a prison inmate, Damon Thomas Young, age 39, formerly of a Gordon County address, using contraband cellular telephones and fictitious identities to order heavy equipment (track hoe, front-end loader, etc.) which was then delivered to a third party address in Ranger, Georgia. The actual thefts were in excess of over half a million dollars. In total, Young ordered or attempted to order equipment valued at over 2 million dollars, and even managed to acquire LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) status for his “company” from the prison. Young was convicted of Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft in the United States District Court in August 2021.
On Thursday, April 14, officials from the Dalton, Georgia FBI Office visited the Sheriff’s Office where Supervisory Special Agent Sean Burke and Special Agent Jamie Harter presented Detective Hollaran with a certificate from FBI Director Christopher A. Wray praising Hollaran’s “immeasurable contribution in a joint investigative effort”. Detective Hollaran is a 17-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office and resides in the Sonoraville community. He was previously decorated by Sheriff Ralston for his work in this case.