Crime & Public Safety
Crime & Public Safety

Former GBI official misused state purchasing card in plain sight

The GBI confiscated dozens of items from the home of Sandra Putnam, a former supervisor accused of illegally using her purchase card.
The GBI confiscated dozens of items from the home of Sandra Putnam, a former supervisor accused of illegally using her purchase card.
By Rhonda Cook
Feb 19, 2018

Former inspector Sandra Putnam had a long, successful history at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and had earned the trust of her superiors.

That’s part of the reason she was able to spend tens of thousands of dollars on herself and her friends, using a purchasing card paid for with taxpayer dollars.

According to records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, her spending spree was blatant and included fraudulent receipts and changing reports to show items ordered online were delivered to the GBI headquarters in Decatur and not to her home in Covington.

Putnam pleaded guilty in December but questions linger about why her bosses didn’t catch on sooner.

ExplorePlease go to MyAJC.com to read more about how Putnam pulled it off.

About the Author

Rhonda Cook
More Stories

The Latest

Superior Court Judge Bert Guy Jr. of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit — pictured in St. Mary's in 2024 — resigned from his role as president of the state’s Council of Superior Court Judges following his DUI arrest Tuesday at a Jacksonville, Florida, strip club. (Stephen B. Morton/AJC 2024)

Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Judge resigns as council president after Florida strip club arrest

Georgia judge charged with DUI after parking lot incident at Jacksonville strip club

Defendant sentenced to life in Secoriea Turner’s shooting

Featured

Mathew Palmer, a former Delta Air Lines employee, at his home in Atlanta on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. Palmer was fired less than two weeks after writing a post on social media about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. (Natrice Miller/AJC)
EXCLUSIVE

Delta flight attendant fired for Kirk-related social post speaks out

Mathew Palmer, a Delta flight attendant, was suspended by the airline the day after writing a Facebook post about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s voters are sticking with her through her political evolution

Congresswoman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s supporters are sticking with her even as she splits from Republican Party leadership

Truck driver arrested after 8th victim found in wreckage of I-85 crash

A tractor-trailer struck the back of a Dodge van, causing the van to go up in flames. The crash involved 6 vehicles, one of which was a van transporting 37 cats to a shelter.

16m ago