Vaughn v. State, 324 Ga. App. 289

Mark Anthony Vaughn pled guilty (nonnegotiated) to one count of theft by deception dated between Jan 12, 2008 and Jan 10, 2010; sentenced to 10 years with 2.5 years to serve and remainder probated. Restitution reserved for later determination.
Accusation alleged roughly $57,000 taken during that two-year period; indictment was filed Sept. 15, 2010.
At the restitution hearing (Sept. 26, 2012), the employer presented a spreadsheet documenting fraudulent invoices from May 14, 1998 through Feb. 12, 2010 totaling $260,637.02; trial court ordered Vaughn to pay that full amount.
Vaughn argued restitution must be limited to the period alleged in the accusation and within the civil statute of limitations for conversion (four years).
The State did not allege any statute-of-limitations tolling exception in the accusation/indictment; trial court nevertheless awarded restitution for the entire ~12-year period.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether restitution may include losses outside the dates alleged in the accusation and beyond the civil statute of limitations	State argued the charged acts were part of a single, continuing theft discovered within four years, so restitution may cover broader period	Vaughn argued restitution must be limited to acts within the dates in the accusation and within the four-year civil limitations period	Reversed: restitution cannot include amounts outside the period encompassed by the accusation when the indictment does not plead a tolling exception to the statute of limitations
Whether a guilty plea waives statute-of-limitations defenses for restitution purposes	Implicitly relied on precedent suggesting waiver	Vaughn argued his plea did not waive statute-of-limitations defenses; his plea agreement contained no such waiver	Court overruled prior authority to the extent it held a guilty plea automatically waives SOL defenses; here plea did not waive SOL and SOL defense stands
Whether State met its burden to prove restitution amount by preponderance	State presented employer testimony and spreadsheet documenting larger aggregate losses	Vaughn contested inclusion of pre-accusation losses and reliance on State’s file/accusation amounts	Court held State failed to justify restitution beyond accused period because it did not plead tolling exceptions; remanded for proceedings consistent with opinion

Harris v. State, 261 Ga. 859 (restitution is part of criminal punishment and forces accountability)
Stack-Thorpe v. State, 270 Ga. App. 796 (discussing single-continuing-theft concept and discovery rule)
Jenkins v. State, 278 Ga. 598 (statute-of-limitations exceptions must be pled in the indictment)
State v. Barrett, 215 Ga. App. 401 (plea agreement may waive rights when contractually done)
Beall v. State, 252 Ga. App. 138 (previously held guilty plea waives SOL defenses; court here limits that holding)
State v. Barker, 277 Ga. App. 84 (indictment fatally defective if SOL has run unless exceptions alleged)
Mayfield v. State, 307 Ga. App. 630 (definition of "damages" under OCGA § 17-14-2 in restitution context)