Certiorari was granted to consider whether, after it was discovered that appellant had made affirmative misrepresentations to the trial court concerning his eligibility for first offender treatment, his sentence under the First Offender Act could be revoked and he could be resentenced. We find that such revocation and resentencing is permissible, and therefore we affirm. Appellant Charles Wilford, also known as Charles Ikori, was arrested and indicted on seven counts of forgery. Appearing before the trial court, appellant pled guilty to all counts and requested that he be sentenced under the First Offender Act.1 In response, the trial court inquired whether appellant had previously been convicted under the alias Charles Ikori on federal charges in the Northern District of Georgia. Appellant assured the trial court that had never been convicted of any crime, and told the court that although he had previously been arrested in the Northern District, the case against him had been dismissed. After warning appellant that his sentence would be revoked if it was discovered that he had been untruthful about being a first-time offender, the trial court granted the request for first offender treatment and sentenced appellant to ten years probation, with twelve months to be served in a detention center. Appellant began to serve his sentence shortly thereafter.
After sentencing, the State obtained a certified copy of the Northern District conviction, which showed that appellant, under the alias Charles Ikori, had in fact been convicted of the federal crimes he was questioned about by the trial court. The State then moved the trial court to set aside appellant’s first offender sentence and resentence him. A hearing was held, at which defense counsel stipulated that appellant had a prior felony conviction and was not eligible for treatment under the First Offender Act. Counsel explained to the court that following his conviction on federal charges, appellant had served six months in a detention facility before being deported to England. While in England, appellant changed his name to Ikori, obtained a new visa, and returned to the United States. Counsel explained that appellant had lied to the trial court about his earlier conviction because he feared a second deportation.
