About the Staff

Ms. Wallace is originally from Athens, Tennessee.

Ms. Wallace has been with the office since its inception in 2003. She worked initially as a Deputy Inspector General, then Senior Deputy Inspector General, serving under three prior State Inspectors General before accepting her current responsibilities as Inspector General.

As Inspector General, Ms. Wallace directs the Office responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse in the Executive Branch of state government. Ms. Wallace has twenty eight years of experience conducting administrative and criminal investigations in both state and federal government and holds credentials as a Certified Inspector General (CIG) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).  A retired Lieutenant Commander, she is also a twenty year veteran of the U.S. Navy, skilled in the areas of leadership, management, and administration.

Her professional experience in the federal government includes working as a Criminal Investigator with the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Compensation Investigator with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division, and Security Specialist with the U.S. Department of Energy. Ms. Wallace also worked for the State of Tennessee as an Internal Affairs Investigator and Program Manager for the Department of Corrections. Ms. Wallace is a graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations’ Special Agent Training, and both Tennessee and Georgia State Government Executive Leadership Programs.  She earned her Bachelors in Management Science from Chaminade University and her Master’s degree in Education Administration from Troy State University. 

Ms. Wiese is from the Atlanta, Georgia area.

Ms. Wiese is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) highly adept at fraud investigations, forensic auditing, and project management. As Deputy IG, she leads and conducts investigations involving fraud, waste, abuse and corruption within the executive branch of state government. In addition to her investigative duties, Ms. Wiese serves as OIG’s Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Wiese has received advanced training in criminal and administrative investigations, fraud examinations, interviews and interrogations, contract and grant fraud examinations, public corruption, and a variety of other topics related to the anti-fraud profession.

Prior to accepting her position with the Office of Inspector General, she worked in the City of Atlanta’s City Auditor’s Office as the Investigations Manager where she built the investigative unit from the ground up, leading and conducting white collar crime investigations into alleged wrongdoing by City employees and vendors. Before this, Ms. Wiese worked seven years in public accounting with two notable Atlanta based firms in positions of ever-increasing responsibility ranging from Systems Associate to Senior Auditor to Associate Vice President for Financial Reporting and Analysis.

Ms. Wiese is a Georgia Southern University graduate who holds a Master of Accountancy with a concentration in Forensic Accounting and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting with a Fraud Examination minor. 

Ms. Whetzel is originally from Madison, GA and currently resides in the Atlanta area.

Ms. Whetzel is a lawyer with extensive investigative experience relating to both administrative and criminal prosecutions. Since 2011, Ms. Whetzel has been employed by the State of Georgia as an attorney. She has worked closely with the Attorney General’s office in employment, litigation, special prosecutions, business and finance matters. Additionally, she has vast policy and procedure experience and has prepared and presented training materials on a variety of law and employment topics to a wide array of audiences. As OIG’s Director of Legal Services, Ms. Whetzel provides legal guidance and interpretation of laws, and leads and conducts investigations involving fraud, waste, abuse and corruption within the executive branch of state government. In addition, Ms. Whetzel oversees OIG’s sexual harassment investigations within the Executive Branch agencies. 

Prior to accepting her position with the Office of Inspector General, she served as Assistant and Senior Counsel for the Georgia Department of Corrections for three years, and as Deputy Executive Secretary/Staff Attorney for the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission for five years.   

Ms. Whetzel received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia in 2006, her law degree from Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law in 2010, and an LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in 2011. Ms. Whetzel is licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia.   

Mr. Schneider is from the Atlanta, Georgia area.  

Mr. Schneider is a P.O.S.T. certified investigator adept in computer forensics who has a broad spectrum of experience investigating financial crime investigations.  He has worked several multi-jurisdictional investigations, one of which culminated in federal convictions of multiple suspects with estimated losses in excess of $68 million.  Mr. Schneider has received advanced training and developed experience in areas including complex document analysis, digital evidence retrieval and preservations, digital forensics, asset forfeiture, money laundering, and the Bank Secrecy Act. 

Prior to accepting his position as an OIG Investigator, Mr. Schneider worked as a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service in Miami, Florida, investigating violations of federal laws related to counterfeit currency, fraudulent credit cards, money laundering, identity fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, and threats against protectees.  Before his tenure with the Secret Service, Mr. Schneider served as a Criminal Investigator with the Georgia Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection.  While there, Mr. Schneider investigated violations of state laws pertaining to computer facilitated crimes, credit card transaction fraud, counterfeit identification manufacturing, and other white collar crimes.

Mr. Schneider is a Kennesaw State University graduate who holds both a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Master of Science degree in Information Systems.

Ms. Vernon is originally from Patuxent River, Maryland.

Ms. Vernon is a Certified Fraud Examiner with a strong financial accounting skill set and a keen eye for detail.

Prior to accepting her position with the Office of the Inspector General, Ms. Vernon worked as a Forensic Accountant with a private accounting firm in Fort Lauderdale analyzing client’s financial documents for instances of fraud.  She also worked with the Florida Department of Revenue as an Auditor for several years where she audited taxpayer’s general ledgers, tax returns, and other financial documents to ensure compliance with state tax code.   

Ms. Vernon earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Georgia State University and a Master degree in Accounting, with a Concentration in Forensic Accounting at Florida Atlantic University in Ft Lauderdale.   

Mr. Griffin is from the Atlanta, Georgia area. 

Mr. Griffin is a Certified Fraud Examiner with a strong background in government operations within Georgia.

Prior to accepting his position with the Office of Inspector General, Mr. Griffin worked for the City of Atlanta as an Investigator in the Auditor’s Office Investigations Unit where he reviewed allegations of wrongdoing by City employees and vendors.  Before this, Mr. Griffin worked as an Auditor for the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts where he was tasked with evaluating and reporting on government agencies’ internal control environments.   

Mr. Griffin is a Georgia Southern University graduate who holds both a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master of Accounting degree with a Forensic Accounting Concentration.

Mr. Williamson is from Statesboro, Georgia.

Mr. Williamson is a recent college graduate pending the award of Certified Fraud Examiner upon completion of on the job training.  A Zell Miller Scholarship Recipient, he completed a rigorous academic curriculum encompassing fraud examination, white-collar crime, the criminal justice system, fraud-related legal issues, and forensic interviewing and interrogation, consistently earning recognition on the Dean’s List.   Prior to accepting his position with the Office of Inspector General, Mr. Williamson was a full time student who worked part-time at local area businesses.  Additionally, he actively volunteered in the Statesboro community, tutoring  students, assisting senior citizens, and provided community outreach.     

Mr. Williamson is a Georgia Southern University graduate who holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Certificate in Fraud Examination. He has short term goals of attaining a Master of Accountancy and earning his CPA within a few years. 

Mr. Johnson is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. 

Mr. Johnson is a highly skilled operational, financial, and compliance auditor with incredible attention to detail. His work incorporates data analytics experience while focusing on non-conventional and special project audits in the State of Georgia.

Prior to accepting his position with the Office of the Inspector General, Mr. Johnson worked as a Staff Auditor for the Georgia Department of Transportation. While in that position, Mr. Johnson led an audit of the agency purchase card program which reduced risk exposure by $2.1 million. Mr. Johnson previously served as owner and operator of a private business and worked in the corporate environment as Operations Manager for Federal Express.   Earlier in his career, Mr. Johnson worked five years as a Parole Officer with Georgia Pardons and Paroles, after dedicating a number of years of service to our country in the United States Marine Corps.     

Mr. Johnson earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

Ms. Spencer is from Atlanta, Georgia.

Ms. Spencer has extensive experience as an Administrative Assistant. She provided support for events and activities, coordinated travel, processed time and expense reports, and maintained office functionality in private industry for years. 

Prior to accepting her position with the Office of the Inspector General, she worked as Claims Analyst with Hiscox Insurance in Atlanta, Georgia, tracking and managing claim details and working with the accounting department to ensure full execution of payments.  She also worked with American International Group as a Workers’ Compensation adjuster, a claims analyst, a trainer, and an administrator.

Ms. Spencer earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, with a minor in Psychology, from Illinois State University in Bloomington, Illinois.