A former employee of a Gloversville insurance company has been arrested, accused of pocketing money from customers intended for insurance payments, Gloversville police said Monday.

Georgianne M. Blakeslee, 42, of Johnstown, has been arrested on a total of six counts of second-degree forgery, felonies, and other charges, police said.

She is accused of taking money provided from customers and then providing them with fraudulent receipts for payment, police said.

The investigation began in May when Salvione Insurance Agency reported that they believed a former employee had engaged in criminal conduct, police said.

Investigators now allege Blakeslee, the former employee, accepted money from multiple customers intended for their insurance premium. But instead of applying it to their premium, police allege she stole the money.

Altered business records

Police also contend she altered multiple business records to reflect the payments were applied when they weren’t, police said.

Blakeslee was also charged with six counts of second-degree falsifying business records, one count of fourth-degree grand larceny, felonies, and a misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of personal identification information.

Blakeslee was arraigned and released to return to court later.

Police provided a photo of Blakeslee and asked that anyone who believes that they experienced any of the following while doing business with Salvione Insurance between April 2021 and March 2025 to contact police at 518-733-4501: Insurance lapse, registration suspension, late payment notice, driver’s license suspension or unusual deposits into the customer’s bank account.

“The Salvione Insurance Agency, Inc. worked closely with law enforcement throughout the investigation, and they aided in the identification of multiple victims,” police wrote.

Gloversville Supervisor Charles Potter at a Fulton County Board of Supervisors meeting in Johnstown on Nov. 13, 2023.

Gloversville 4th Ward Supervisor Charles Potter resigned from his custodial position with the United States Postal Service after he was found to be in violation of the Hatch Act by soliciting political funds for a local event.

Potter, who is the chairman of the Gloversville Republican Committee, solicited and accepted funds in support of the Fulton County Republican Club’s Lincoln Day Dinner, which is an annual fundraiser for the Republican Party. According to the U.S. Postal Service, this violates the Hatch Act’s provision that federal employees cannot solicit political funds.

The Hatch Act, or the “Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities,” is a U.S. federal law that restricts the political activities of federal and some state and local government employees.

The investigation found Potter made multiple solicitations on the Fulton County Republican Committee’s Facebook page for the event, as well as sending emails to businesses requesting donations for it, according to letters from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) dated Aug. 4 obtained by the Leader Herald.

“Because Mr. Potter resigned from USPS, OSC has decided to close this matter without further action,” the letter said. “However, we warned Mr. Potter that if in the future he engages in Hatch Act prohibited activity, OSC will consider such violation a willful and knowing violation of the law that could result in disciplinary action.”

However, Potter said that the complaint filed, of whom the name or names of the individuals........

© The Leader Herald