Police in say the former finance director of the Centre County United Way faces charges for using the nonprofit's credit card to pay for $17,000 in personal expenses.
The Centre Daily Times reports Bellefonte resident Doris Conner used the card for things including airline tickets for family members, paying veterinary bills and attending events. Police say she faces charges including theft by deception, receiving stolen property and other counts for purchases between May 2002 and June 2012.
She was arraigned Monday and released on $20,000 bail. A message left for her attorney was not immediately returned.
Tammy Gentzel, the United Way chapter's executive director, says it has received partial restitution from Conner and its insurance company and that it's confident it will recoup all the missing funds.
“We’re all incredibility saddened someone we worked with for all these years, that this situation has come up,” Gentzel told the paper. “But we really want to convey to donors that their donations have not been misappropriated. Everything is accounted for, and we are confident all the money will be returned.”
Gentzel said the organization has implemented additional checks and balances, including contacting an outside accounting firm to do some bookkeeping, to make sure a similar situation doesn’t happen again.
