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The county denied a beer and wine license to a local business owner after it was discovered he’d supplied a false document to get a similar license at another location.

On Tuesday, the Troup County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to deny the beer and wine license to Sami Uddin for the Super G convenience store at 2744 Hamilton Rd.

County staff recommended the denial of the permit based on the applicant having been convicted of selling alcohol to a minor and falsely denying the conviction on a sworn statement for a separate beer and wine license.

County Planner Ruth West said the previous alcohol license ended up getting inadvertently approved when the false statement was not discovered.

According to West, Uddin said he had not been convicted of a misdemeanor within the last 10 years. It was later confirmed that Uddin had been convicted of underage sales in 2016. That conviction was not discovered until after he was approved for a beer and wine license at the nearby Happy Stop convenience store.

West said Uddin had also denied the conviction on that application, which was not properly investigated and it slipped through.

Uddin was asked on both applications, “Have you ever been convicted of any misdemeanor offenses during the past ten (10) years?” He answered no on both applications, according to West.

The applicant was not at the hearing but another individual, Matt Patel, spoke on his behalf. Patel stated that Uddin has communication problems and suggested that the incorrect information had been a mistake.

County Attorney Jerry Willis noted that whether or not Uddin intentionally provided false information to get the first license, he is not entitled to the second one because of the 2016 underage sales conviction.

Based on current county policy, Uddin would only be eligible for the license 10 years after the conviction, which would be in 2026.

West said current county policy would allow Patel to hire a manager for the location and for them to get a license in their name, so the store would not need to wait until 2026 to sell beer and wine.

Uddin’s other license, which should not have been approved according to county policy, is up for annual renewal in December. Willis suggested that the county should begin the process to deal with it now rather than waiting until the end of the year.

“That license should never have existed. I don’t think it wise to turn a deaf ear to that when it’s going to be continuing to December,” Willis said. “I don’t think, Mr. Chairman, we should just ignore the fact that we’ve got a license out there that should not have been issued to begin with.”

The commissioners will discuss potentially revoking the inadvertently issued beer and wine license at their next meeting on June 20.