Two local women were arrested and charged in a federal and state operation targeting Georgians who allegedly fraudulently obtained federal funding for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program.

Bartow County Sheriff’s Office officials assisted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in Operation Clean House, which included the arrests of Demetria Renee Davis, 34, of 18 Briarwood Lane, Cartersville, and Ladonna Rae Wilkerson, 48, of 4243 Apache Drive, Acworth.

Both women were charged with making false statements and theft by deception.

GBI Spokesman John Bankhead said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development contacted agents for assistance in the crackdown. There was a similar operation in south Georgia last year.

See Friday’s edition of The Daily Tribune News for further coverage.