Ellaville City Manager Arrested On 29 Theft Charges Following GBI Investigation

ELLAVILLE, Georgia – Ellaville city officials are facing serious allegations after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested and charged the city’s top administrator.

On January 21, 2026, GBI announced that 50-year-old Donna Lynne McChargue, 50, of Ellaville, had been arrested. She is charged with 29 counts of Theft by Taking. McChargue serves as the City Manager of Ellaville in Schley County.

According to investigators, the case began in October 2025 when the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office requested the GBI conduct an investigation into McChargue’s financial activity. During that investigation, agents uncovered multiple suspicious purchases and withdrawals allegedly linked to McChargue.

Following the investigation, McChargue was taken into custody and booked into the Schley County Jail. No further details have been released at this time, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Americus at 229-931-2439. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS(8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app. Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.