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.

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A native of Columbus and a fine arts graduate of Clark Atlanta, Amy Sherald was chosen as the official portrait artist of former first lady Michelle Obama. On the same week that the portrait was unveiled at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, it was also announced that Sherald was awarded the High Museum's 2018 David C. Driskell Prize. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Credit: Andrew Harnik