Man, 78, Accused of Ripping Off Neighbors

A 78-year-old Kennesaw man spent two hours in the Friday on charges that he embezzled nearly $18,000 from his homeowners association.

Douglas Gilpatrick Tulper of the 2300 block of Brookgreen Commons was facing a Jan. 18 arrest warrant when he turned himself in just before 9 a.m. Friday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Tulper is charged with two felony counts of theft by taking, and he was released on a $10,000 bond around 11:30 a.m., jail records show.

He is accused of siphoning $17,799.82 from the Legacy Park Men’s Club while he served as treasurer between December 2009 and June 2011, the AJC said, citing the arrest warrant.

The club is part of the homeowners association for the 117-acre in Kennesaw and had the responsibility to manage the community center and clubhouse, according to a letter the community board of directors posted on the Legacy Park website Dec. 7.

The letter acknowledges financial discrepancies in the Men’s Club accounts, including checks made to cash and payments to credit cards that didn’t belong to the Legacy Park Community Association.

The board said it became aware of the problems early in 2011 and eventually decided to seek a criminal investigation. The board also began the process of auditing all committees and instituting tougher financial safeguards, it told residents in the letter.

The investigation resulted in the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office getting a warrant for Tulper’s arrest the day before Jan. 19’s monthly meeting of the association board.

The homeowners association has its annual meeting Feb. 7.