A suspended Georgia Court of Appeals judge has agreed to pay a $25,000 fine to settle ethics charges that he spent campaign funds for personal use.
The state ethics commission voted Thursday to approve a consent decree with Judge Christian Coomer. Commission staff say it’s the largest fine ever against a Georgia judge in an ethics case.
A 2020 ethics complaint accused Coomer of transferring money from his old legislative campaign account to financially prop up his former law firm between 2015 and 2019.
The complaint also said Coomer used campaign money to pay for trips to Hawaii and Israel.
Coomer’s lawyer says the judge didn’t benefit, but says Coomer wants to “take responsibility” for what happened.
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