Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader says the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was brought in last year after concerns were raised about county financial accounts, and that investigation has now resulted in an arrest tied to the Zentell Communications project.

Schrader said that on March 17, 2025, he requested GBI assistance after county officials reported suspicious activity on several accounts within the county’s books, and after he spoke with the county auditor.

Schrader said that on January 9, 2026, the GBI arrested Jonathan Wesley Allen of Chattanooga on one count of Felony Theft by Taking in connection with the Zentell Communications, LLC project. Allen has been booked into the Chattooga County Jail and is awaiting a bond hearing.

In the sheriff’s statement, Schrader said he spoke with the GBI special agent assigned to the case and the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, and both advised that the investigation and review of the complaints involving those accounts has been completed and they do not expect any further arrests related to this investigation.

The arrest follows ongoing scrutiny of a Menlo broadband expansion project funded through the American Rescue Plan, along with a related civil lawsuit filed by Chattooga County.

The broader controversy has also drawn attention to decisions made during the prior county administration, but officials say the criminal case announced Friday centers on Zentell owner Jonathan Allen.