Girl Scouts coordinator charged with grand theft
Stephanie Person may not have been living by the Girl Scout law after she was arrested by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and charged with grand theft and scheme to defraud early Wednesday.
The 41-year-old Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida member services coordinator was in charge of handling 500 individual troops’ funds and banking, according to a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office news release. After the CEO of the Gulfcoast chapter noticed that about $77,000 was missing from their funds, all possibilities pointed to Person.
According to the release, she had been using an inactive troop number to transfer money to herself. Five troops had sustained a total loss of $84,760.70 withdrawn from various banks, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Person said she was having financial hardships and was planning on paying back the money she took but found herself unable to stop once she realized how easy it was, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies are still investigating the case. In 2010, Person had been charged with issuing a worthless check of under $150.
She is being held at the Sarasota County jail on a $9,000 bond.
Hannah Morse: 941-745-7055, @mannahhorse
This story was originally published August 31, 2016 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Girl Scouts coordinator charged with grand theft."