Lawanda Butler

Name:
Butler, Lawanda

Date of Booking:
03/26/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
EXPLIOT/INFLICT PAIN TO/DEPRIVE ESSENTAIL SERVICES TO DISABLED PERSON/ELDERLY/RESIDENT

FINANCIAL TRANSACTION CARD FRAUD

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

[NARRATIVE #1 on January 30, 2026]

On 30 January 2026 I, Deputy Morris met with an individual in reference to his mother being the victim of financial transaction card fraud by a known individual. The reporting party has durable power of attorney over his mother due to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The reporting party provided several bank statements which showed 106 highlighted transactions which occurred between 29 August 2025 and 07 January 2026 totaling $6524.70.

[End of Narrative]

[NARRATIVE #2 on January 30, 2026]

On 30 January 2026 I, Deputy Morris met with [WITNESS #1] in the lobby of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office. [WITNESS #1] reported that he had recently discovered a number of fraudulent charges on his mother’s credit card statement. He pulled up several previous statements and discovered there appeared to be fraudulent charges on the account going back to August 29, 2025.

[WITNESS #1] stated that he believed the charges had been made by an employee of Visiting Angels who had helped with his father before his death in November and had continued on helping with his mother since. [WITNESS #1] identified the employee as Lawanda Butler.

[WITNESS #1] stated that he had durable power of attorney over his mother and handles her finances. He stated that he contacted Visiting Angels and instructed them not to send the caregiver and notified them of the reason why. Visiting Angels contacted him and stated that they had spoken with Butler. They advised that Butler stated that she had used the card once to purchase her daughter’s cap and gown with Mrs. [VICTIM #1] permission. [WITNESS #1] highlighted 106 transactions totaling $6524.70.

Several charges were made to Georgia Power. This was unusual due [WITNESS #1] having Walton EMC as a service provider. These charges were as follows:

• 10/29 $40.00
• 11/03 $50.00
• 11/11 $75.00
• 11/16 $75.00
• 11/26 $60.00
• 12/03 $65.00
• 12/08 $50.00
• 12/12 $60.00
• 12/16 $65.00
• 12/20 $50.00
• 12/23 $75.00
• 12/28 $70.00
• 01/03 $65.00
• 01/08 $50.00

For a total of $850.00
The following payments were made to Crickett Wireless:

• 10/30 $45.00
• 12/01 $30.00
• 01/07 $30.00

For a total of $105.00
The following payments were made to an AT&T prepaid wireless account:

• 10/27 $76.50
• 10/28 $76.50
• 11/26 $76.50
• 11/28 $46.50
• 12/04 $76.50
• 12/26 $76.50
• 12/26 $46.50
• 01/02 $76.50
• 01/25 $76.50

For a total of $628.50
The following payments were made via DoorDash, an app which [WITNESS #1] does not have on her phone:

• 09/16 $49.31
• 11/06 $39.91
• 11/21 $62.02
• 11/24 $48.91
• 12/03 $54.13
• 12/07 $54.28
• 12/15 $36.09
• 12/16 $30.83
• 12/20 $52.11
• 12/23 $70.97
• 12/24 $53.17
• 12/27 $57.38
• 12/28 $79.61
• 12/29 $55.23
• 12/31 $105.11
• 01/01 $27.70
• 01/02 $26.26
• 01/05 $77.36
• 01/07 $65.52
• 01/07 $69.18
• 01/09 $24.76

For a total of $1,139.84
The following payments were made to Assurance America Insurance:

• 08/29 $295.33
• 10/01 $287.11
• 01/05 $734.64

For a total of $1,317.08

The following payments were made to Cedar Shoals related activities (Butler has a daughter that is a senior at Cedar Shoals High School):

• 09/03 Jaguar Dugout Club $12.00
• 11/19 Double Good Popcorn 28.77
• 11/22 GoFanTix $35.60
• 11/25 GoFanTix $17.80
• 12/09 Natalies Elf Shelf $11.50
• 12/09 Natalies Elf Shelf $11.50
• 12/09 GoFanTix $9.00
• 12/09 Natalies Elf Shelf $11.50
• 01/06 GoFanTix $9.00
• 01/06 GoFanTix $9.00

For a total of $155.67
The following payments were made to Acima Lease to Own:

• 12/14 $30.00
• 01/02 $12.33
• 01/03 $40.67

For a total of $83.00

[End of Narrative]