Read Part 1 of this series – Interview with Commissioner Ray Davis
Months after an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation into Bulloch County’s Public Works department over Hurricane Helene-related invoices was opened and then later closed, the complete case file has been released under the Georgia Open Records Act.
The file, which includes copies of the invoices and a number of interviews with public officials and business owners, indicates that GBI agents determined there were discrepancies with the invoices submitted by Sand Creek Land Construction which is owned by Clay Conner, brother of Commissioner Toby Conner. While some of the discrepancies were attributed to what Conner said was an ‘industry standard’ for 8-hour minimums on truck rentals and hauling that were not reflected as line items on invoices, other discrepancies were eventually determined to be ‘simple miscalculations’ on the invoices. According to the case file, Conner was paid upwards of half a million dollars in the wake of the 2024 storm recovery.
In July 2025, Clay Conner and his attorney met with the GBI, after all parties signed a proffer agreeing that anything Conner offered in the interview could not be used against him in a criminal or civil proceeding by the GBI or Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia (PAC). The recorded interview reflects a repeated assertion by Conner that he did nothing wrong, that the investigation was politically motivated, and a clear acknowledgement of the miscalculations. It was noted in another recorded interview with another party that Clay Conner had since taken efforts to upgrade “how they do things” and have “since put things in place” in the business practices.
Given the volume of information in the case file and the number of recorded interviews, the information will be released in a series of articles. The documents will be released in the order in which the various interviews were conducted over the course of the investigation. A number of interviews include no data on their date of occurrence and will be published in the order they appeared in the file. A follow-up has been submitted to the GBI, but has not been provided. If/when additional details of interview dates are submitted, they will be included in the forthcoming parts.
A complete list of documents and interviews conducted, all of which will eventually be published, can be viewed in the timeline below.
CASE TIMELINE
Friday, February 28, 2025 – Commissioner Ray Davis contacts District Attorney Robert Busbee.
Friday, February 28, 2025 – District Attorney Robert Busbee requests assistance from the GBI after receiving information from a concerned resident. The letter says Busbee was notified of concerns regarding 1) bidding, and 2) an unnamed county commissioner, and) a county employee named “Dink Butler.”
Tuesday, March 4, 2025 – Bulloch County Commissioners hold their regular meeting. The issue of invoices and Sand Creek Land Construction are discussed during the public comment portion of the meeting. Meeting can be viewed here.
Wednesday, March 5, 2025 – 8:45 a.m – GBI Interviews Commissioner Ray Davis. Listen to his interview here.
Wednesday, March 5, 2025 – 1:31 p.m. – GBI Interviews Clay & Megen Conner
Thursday, March 6, 2025 – 8:53 a.m. – GBI Interviews Public Works Director Dink Butler & Asst. Public Works Director Robert Seamans.
Chairman David Bennett [Interview date not listed on audio recording or in case file. Interview time is 11:15 a.m. (based on interview end time) published in order it appeared in case file]
Commissioner Nick Newkirk [Interview date not listed on audio recording or in case file. Time ~8:25 a.m. (based on interview end time) published in order it appeared in case file]
Commissioner Anthony Simmons [Interview date not listed on audio recording or in case file. Time ~12:00 p.m. (based on interview end time) published in order it appeared in case file]
GBI Interviews Commissioner Ray Mosley [Interview date not listed on audio recording or in case file. Time 9:53 p.m. (based on interview end time) – published in order it appeared in case file]
GBI Interviews Commissioner Timmy Rushing – [Interview date not listed on audio recording or in case file. Time 10:14 a.m. – published in order it appeared in case file]
Monday, March 10, 2025 – GriceConnect breaks the news that there is a GBI investigation. TheGeorgiaVirtue also notes an active GBI investigation in an article about the ethical concerns about Commissioner Toby Conner voting on the approval of funding for work completed by his brother.
GBI Interviews Commissioner Toby Conner [date not listed but comments from agent in the audio indicate it occurred after the month of March]. Time 10:06 a.m (based on interview end time). – published in order it appeared in case file]
No one else was interviewed by the GBI, but in July, the GBI does interview Clay Conner a second time.
April 11, 2025 – The District Attorney’s Office notifies PAC that the GBI investigation, which is still ongoing, will create a conflict for his office. The DA’s office did not formally ‘conflict out’ because the office did not receive the case file since Busbee notified PAC while the investigation was ongoing. The GBI does not forward its eventual findings to the Ogeechee Circuit DA’s office and instead consults with PAC.
Monday, July 14, 2025 – Clay Conner and his attorney submit a proffer to the GBI and Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia which prohibits the use of the content of Conner’s interview in any criminal or civil proceeding against him so long as the content is truthful and complete. The fact that the proffer has been made is also prohibited from being used in any criminal or civil proceeding against Clay Conner. Read the proffer. A copy of the document signed by the prosecutor in the case is available here.
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 – Conner and his attorney appear at the Bulloch County Commission meeting. Conner’s attorney, Jim Durham, tells the commissioners his client has been treated unfairly and that Conner voluntarily sat down with the GBI with all of the information about his business. Read the story.
Wednesday, Aug 20, 2025 – The Executive Director of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council signs an order appointing a District Attorney Pro Tem to handle the case. (Note: This is when the order was signed, but PAC was handling the case prior to this date because the PAC prosecutor is referenced in the case file prior to this date and Busbee notified PAC of the potential conflict on April 11, 2025.)
Wednesday, Aug 20, 2025 – The Prosecuting Attorney’s Council pens a letter to the GBI stating, “Based on your findings and our analysis of the case, there is no readily provable criminal intent, and the case is declined.” Read the story.
Thursday, Aug 21, 2025 – TheGeorgiaVirtue filed an Open Records Request for the complete case file. The GBI replies the same day to report that the case is still open and pending and, therefore, the records are not available. View the email response from the GBI indicating that the file was not subject to release.
Tuesday, Aug 26, 2025 – TheGeorgiaVirtue again files an Open Records Request for the complete case file. [Documented in response from GBI here]
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025 – The GBI replies with the cost estimate for the case file and states the file will be ready on or before November 19, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. (Not a typo on the part of TGV, the GBI invoice lists the completion date as more than one year from the date of request. View the email response from the GBI.)
Friday, Oct. 3, 2025 – The GBI file is provided to TheGeorgiaVirtue. It notes that some personally identifiable information was redacted during preparation of the file, as is permitted under the Georgia Open Records Act.[View the email dated October 3 indicating that the case file is available for download]
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2183
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2187
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2188
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2191
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2192
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2198
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2199
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2205
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2206
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2207
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2208
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2215
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2216
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2222
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2223
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2253
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2258
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2260
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2263
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2265
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2270
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2283
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2289
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2292
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2300
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2308
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2314
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2316
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2318
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2322
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2325
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2334
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2335
Sand Creek LLC Invoice – 2335 Duplicate
Sand Creek LLC Invoices List
GBI Interviews Clay & Megen Conner
AUDIO FILE #1 – Audio file is 21 minutes and 33 seconds.
1:18 – Interview begins with Agent Justin Jones explaining to Clay Conner why he’s at his business. Conner invites Jones into his office.
1:45 – Conner asks if it has something to do with the Bulloch County Coalition. Jones replies that he’s heard that mentioned, but that’s not where the investigation began.
2:00 – Clay’s wife, Megen, joins the interview. Agent Jones explains more about the scope of the investigation and mentions Public Works Director Dink Butler. Jones tells the Conners that it sounds like a miscommunication.
3:00 – Clay Conner references Cassandra Mikell, who spoke at the commission meeting the night prior. He said that Mikell had the invoices, but doesn’t have the tickets that are sent with the invoices to the county. “She didn’t print that off.”
4:05 – Agent Jones states that that’s why he’s here. “I’m like as long as they exist, it’s easy to clear up. Close cases as quickly as we opened it. But I understand, I guess, from her position if you just have this…” Clay Conner replies that Mikell ‘didn’t print the rest of it off,’
[Note: In Part 3, during the GBI interview with Public Works Director Dink Butler, Butler states that they never included the tickets with the invoices when sending them over to commissioners for payment because the finance department has never asked for them.]
4:35 – Megen Conner says that Mikell doesn’t understand the difference between the types of hauling and how invoices vary based on the hauling type.
5:00 – Jones says if everything is ‘as simple as comparing the records that exist,’ this is as simple as it gets. Clay Conner replies that he writes everything down. Discussion then moves to the number of trucks Conner runs.
6:10 – Jones asks about the competitive rate.
6:40 – Megen Conner says that Dink Butler calls Clay and says how many trucks he needs and Clay gets them set up. “He’s going above and beyond his job to set up to make sure Bulloch County has its truck.”
6:57 – Clay Conner says the GBI can have any records they want. “If an invoice is messed up, Dink Butler catches it or Stephanie this morning caught one, we make it right.”
7:20 – “She’s a jealous bitch. It’s just jealousy,” Clay Conner says.
8:00 – Agent Jones explains what documentation he would need to clear up concerns. Megen Conner asks if this is because she [Cassandra Mikell] doesn’t have exact numbers. Jones reiterates that Mikell did not request the investigation.
8:30 – Clay Conner says “This is the Bulloch County Coalition’s District Attorney coming to y’all.”
8:50 – Megen Conner says it’s frustrating because they’re “just trying to be good people.” She said they could back out of Bulloch County because they’d be screwed.
9:05 – Clay Conner says he goes to church with Dink Butler and Butler approached him. “Am I making money? Yes I’m making money. I’m doing this to make money.”
10:15 – Megen Conner says they just started a new system.
10:30 – Jones says if they can’t produce any documentation that day, it’s understandable. There is a lull when Clay Conner is sifting through documents to give to Jones.
14:45 – Agent Jones inquires about the leasing and how he totals hours and the tickets. Clay Conner explains the process for the drivers and his review. He also explains the ‘drive time’ hour for traveling to and/or from a job.
17:12 – Megen Conner locates an invoice and says she is unsure if ‘every single ticket’ is attached to the invoice. They continue sifting through paperwork to provide to Agent Jones.
The audio on the first file stops, presumably because Jones is using his phone to take photos of the documents as you can hear the camera snap shot sound as the audio ends. Based on the first recording start time and the second recording end time, the audio recorder was off for approximately a minute and a half.
AUDIO FILE #2 – 8 minutes 43 seconds
1:05 – Megen Conner said the trucks they own have GPS tracking and while it may not show hours, it will show where they went. Clay Conner is continuing to go through documents.
6:00 – Agent Jones moves the mic so it’s difficult to hear his statement, but Clay Conner tells Jones that he has Conner’s phone number if he needs something. Megen Conner says she is happy to reach out to the leased trucks as well.
6:40 – Jones tells him he hopes they will get “this” cleared up sooner than later.
Listen to the full audio files below.
Initial Sand Creek Invoices
Sand Creek Tickets 2316
Sand Creek Tickets 2308
Sand Creek Tickets 2292
Sand Creek Tickets 2283
