A Florida woman was arrested Wednesday after deputies said she stole nearly $85,000 from Girl Scouts during the course of several months.
Stephanie Person, 41, was a member services coordinator for the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida and was "identified as a possible suspect" when the CEO of the organization found that more than $75,000 was missing from their financial account, NBC Miami reported.
The money stolen was from cookie sales and was meant to be dispersed to Tampa Bay-area troops for field trips and community-service projects.
Deputies said Person transferred the money to herself by using an inactive troop's account for eight months and said she started to take it because of financial hardships.
"When she realized how easy it was, she just kept doing it. She described it as like an addiction. She just kept doing it and couldn't stop," Lt. Joe Giasone, of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, told NBC Miami. "She said she used it for living expenses, and she was buying scratch-off lottery tickets, wasn't buying anything tangible."
Sue Stewart, CEO of Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, said she was "extremely surprised" by Person's actions. "We had a 10-year, trusted former employee," she told NBC Miami. "As Girl Scouts, we're teaching our girls to be honest and fair, and it really is disappointing that we're upholding a mission and that this could occur."
NBC Miami reported the organization is hiring new staff members and will implement a stricter system to avoid this in the future. Girl Scout employees are currently working to recover the lost money.
Person was arrested and charged with grand theft and scheme to defraud.
Read more at NBC Miami.
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