Amy Grebe’s stomach turns every time she thinks about it.
“That’s sick,” she said. “Who steals from children?”
Grebe is the executive director of the ACPPA Community Art Center, a program based in Norristown that provides “creative ways for children to express feelings of hope and worth.” Every summer, the ACPPA runs a camp for nearly 200 children in the area.
This year, parents and donors donated nearly $3000 to help provide for the camp's classes, teachers, supplies and trips. The donated money was transferred from Grebe’s PNC bank account to her PayPal account. When Grebe checked her account on May 16 however, she says she discovered it had been hacked into and that the money was gone.
“We called PayPal and assumed it was a mistake,” Grebe said. “I asked, ‘Will you clean this up?’ They said, ‘No, we won’t, case closed.’ They were blunt, hostile and wouldn’t answer my questions.”
NBC10’s Deanna Durante contacted PayPal several times on Tuesday. Shortly after noon however, Grebe says she noticed that the stolen money was back in her account. Grebe claims however that she had tried to get the money back for two weeks and didn’t see any action on PayPal’s part until today.
“We called police and we went to the bank,” said Grebe. “It wasn’t until we went to the media that they put money back. It was to make themselves look good.”
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
“We can confirm we have reimbursed the charity for the unauthorized transaction made on their account,” said a PayPal spokesperson. “We’re very sorry that this occurred.”
The representative declined to comment on why it took two weeks for the reimbursement or why Grebe was initially told that the case was closed when she first called them. While Grebe is happy that the money is back, she is still frustrated by both the theft and PayPal’s response.
“The bottom line is that money was still stolen,” said Grebe, who also says she plans on closing her PayPal account.
Investigators are still trying to find out who initially stole the money. If you have any information on this case, please call the Norristown Police Department at 610-275-1222.
