Grand Jury indicts Ray Goodman

TIFTON — The Tift County Grand Jury has indicted Tifton businessman Charles Ray Goodman on 15 counts of first degree forgery and 17 counts of theft by deception. The indictments were returned on Monday. Goodman is the owner of a local mobile home sales business.

The indictments describe a number of incidents in which Goodman is alleged to have falsified mobile home documents which allowed him to sell older mobile homes as newer homes and charged the customer the price for the newer home.

One of the indictments for first degree forgery describe Goodman’s activities as follows:

“On or about the 18th day of June, 2007, (Goodman) did then and there, unlawfully and with the intent to defraud, knowingly make and possess a writing in such a manner that the writing as made purports to have been made by authority of one who did not give such authority, said writing being a Manufacturer’s Statement or Certificate of Origin to a manufactured home purportedly issued by Pioneer Housing Systems, Inc., for a mobile home bearing a serial number PH1307GA01715, issued by authority of Elijah Waldron as general manager of Pioneer Housing Systems, Inc., who did not authorize the issuance of the Manufacturer’s Statement or Certificate of Origin to a manufactured home and (Goodman) did utter and deliver said writing to the Office of the Tift County Tax Commissioner, contrary to the laws of said state, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.”

The continuation of that activity is found in another indictment for theft by deception which reads:

“On or about the 18th day of June, 2007, (Goodman) did then and there, unlawfully and by deceitful means and artful practice, intentionally create the false impression that a 1988 Horton mobile home bearing serial number H70471G sold to Paige L. Heinhold was a 1994 Pioneer mobile home bearing serial number PH1307GA01715, and the accused committed the deception with the intention of depriving Paige L. Heinhold of the difference between the value of the purported Horton mobile home value and the purported Pioneer mobile home in the amount of $4,357, contrary to the laws of said State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.”

The numerous indictments describe the same type of activity on various dates in 2006 and 2007 with different victims and amounts lost on the transactions, including:

• April 3, 2007, Mary Brown, $4,357.

• December 8, 2006, Henry and Julia Inman, $4,357.

• July 23, 2007, Candy Smith and Randall Shinall, $3,220.

• April 24, 2007, Morris Baker, $5,962.

• October 19, 2006, Kenny Thacker, $9,241.

• September 15, 2006, Joel Dixonand D&L; Propertiefor 10 mobile homes, each at a loss of $4,535.

Goodman was arrested in January at his business, Ray’s Mobile Homes on Highway 82 E. Capt. Mike Walker with the Tift County Sheriff’s Office said in January that the investigation of Goodman had been ongoing for several months.

If convicted of the theft by deception offenses, Goodman be sentenced to between one and 10 years in prison on each count; if convicted on the first degree forgery offense he could be sentenced to one and 10 years in prison on each count.

To contact reporter Jana Cone, call 382-4321, ext. 208.

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