By Joe Johnson
An employee of the Clayton County Board of Commissioners was arrested last week in Athens for allegedly embezzling money from the owners of a recreational vehicle park for people attending University of Georgia football games.
Susan E. Butler, 66, of Jonesboro was charged last Thursday with multiple felony counts of theft by conversion and released on bond that same day.
She allegedly stole a total of $300,00 over several years from Bulldog RV Park, owned by a homeowners association for which she served as treasurer, according to Athens Clarke County police Lt. Jody Thompson.
“The property owners had discovered inconsistencies in the accounting and completed an informal audit of the bank accounts,” said Thompson, commanding officer of the Property Crime Unit. “From their calculations, the treasurer, Susan Butler, had stolen a significant amount of money.
After the homeowners group filed police report, Thompson said he began a criminal investigation, while at the same time a CPA hired by the park’s owners conducted an audit, both of which determined a total of about $300,000 had been stolen since 2017.
“Members of the Bulldog RV Park were able to recover some of the funds from the sale of property belonging to Butler,” Thompson said.
Butler faces more legal woes in home county, where she serves as marketing and communications superintendent for the Clayton County Board of Commissioners.
According to Thompson, Butler was under investigation for stealing from a homeowners association, of which she is a member, that owns land on Lake Spivey.