[June 30, 2011] Houston grand jury indicts former Centerville employee, alleged hacker Tweet PERRY, Jun 15, 2011 (The Macon Telegraph - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A former Centerville employee accused of pocketing about $11,000 in cash from city coffers was indicted Tuesday by a Houston County grand jury, the head prosecutor says. District Attorney George Hartwig said Wednesday the grand jury also indicted a 22-year-old computer consultant accused of hacking into Houston Healthcare's database. Cinnamon Adams Hovezak, 30, a former Centerville City Hall administrative assistant, allegedly pocketed cash payments the public paid for license fees and other city bills, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. She was indicted on charges of theft by taking by fiduciary, computer forgery and theft by conversion of more than $500, Hartwig said. The city used both a ledger book and a computer system to track payments, and Hovezak allegedly attempted to mask cash amounts she'd allegedly pocketed by waiting until a check came in for the same amount and then recording the cash payment as a check payment, according to the GBI. But the city's internal checks and balances caught up with Hovezak when a supervisor noticed discrepancies, the GBI said. Another red flag was that Hovezak's cash till was generally less than those of fellow employees. Hovezak is free on a $2,000 bond pending trial, according to Houston County jail records. Kelly Burke, a Warner Robins attorney representing Hovezak, could not be reached immediately for comment Wednesday afternoon. Christopher Stewart Wheeler of Warner Robins was indicted on charges of computer theft, computer trespass, computer forgery, computer password disclosure and computer invasion of privacy, Hartwig said. Wheeler is free on a $10,000 conditional bond that includes no access to computers or cell phones or contact with Houston Healthcare. At an October court hearing, Chief Assistant District Attorney Amy Smith opposed bond, arguing Wheeler was a risk to re-offend in that Houston Healthcare has no way of knowing whether he created additional back doors that would allow him to access the network again. Although Wheeler apparently did not access medical or financial records or Social Security numbers, Smith expressed concern he could in the future if released on bond. Reza Sedghi, a Macon attorney representing Wheeler, argued Wheeler was not attempting to commit a crime but was simply trying to impress the information technology department with his abilities in the hopes of landing a job. "It's just not a criminal case," Sedghi said Wednesday. "He (Wheeler) had no criminal intent, so we're going to fight it all the way." To contact writer Becky Purser, call 256-9559. To see more of The Macon Telegraph, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.macon.com Copyright (c) 2011, The Macon Telegraph, Ga. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]