Surry County commissioner Paul Johnson was arrested Friday. The 53-year old commissioner is accused of filing fraudulent travel expense reimbursements over the last three years.

Officials with the State Bureau of Investigation say Johnson is charged with four counts of felony obtaining property by false pretense for submitting falsified travel expenses and making other fraudulent travel claims to the county.

Johnson was released on a written promise to appear in court on Dec. 15.

An SBI investigation began at the request of District Attorney Ricky Bowman after officials discovered in March that Johnson had submitted questionable travel claims for mileage reimbursements. An audit of commissioners' travel and expenses found that Johnson had made more submissions than all of the other commissioners. 

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