Woman pleads guilty to forgery after impersonating a veteran, child cruelty
LAVONIA, G.A. (FOX Carolina) - A woman pled guilty to forgery and cruelty to children in a Franklin County court, according to the district attorney’s office of the Northern Judicial Circuit.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said officials arrested 31-year-old Gabrielle Beutler in August, who was employed as a Post Commander at the VFW Post 5897, after she represented herself as a veteran.
On Wednesday, Sept. 7, Beutler appeared in court after she was charged with forgery in Hart and Franklin Counties.
According to the assistant district attorney, Beutler pled guilty to forgery in the first degree in her Franklin County case for providing a falsified DD214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from active duty to the VFW Post 5879. She was sentenced to 15 years probation.
The assistant district attorney’s office also said she pled guilty to forgery in the first degree for delivering to the Hart County Department of Revenue a similar falsified Air Force DD214 Certificate for Release that claimed she had been deployed to Afghanistan and received a Purple Heart for injuries sustained combat.
Beutler also pled guilty to the following:
- Two misdemeanor charges of false representation of a veteran for applying for and receiving two different license plates.
- Two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree by causing her 9-year-old daughter to believe she had terminal cancer.
According to the assistant district attorney’s office, Beutler also shaved the girl’s head to make the child believe, as well as others, that she was undergoing cancer treatment. She also had a 4-year-old daughter who believed her older sister was suffering from terminal cancer.
A Go Fund Me fundraiser was also created by Beutler to raise money for the 9-year-old’s fake cancer treatment, according to the office.
If anyone has information regarding this incident, contact the GBI Athens Field Office at (706) 552-2309.
Copyright 2022 WHNS. All rights reserved.
