Worthville Treasurer Accused of Stealing Over $47,000 Waives Hearing

WORTHVILLE BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) – A Punxsy woman accused of stealing over $47,000.00 from Worthville Borough waived her hearing on Thursday.

Court documents indicate the following charges against 37-year-old Kerran Dale Snyder, of Punxsutawney, were waived for court on Thursday, November 7:

– Theft By Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Felony 3
– Theft By Deception-False Impression, Felony 3
– Receiving Stolen Property, Felony 3
– Theft By Failure To Make Req Disp Funds, Felony 3

The charges have been transferred to the Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas.

Snyder remains free on $25,000.00 unsecured bail.

The charges stem from an investigation that was initiated on February 27, 2019.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, the investigation was initiated when the President of the Worthville Borough Council reported indications of a financial crime associated to the Worthville Borough Financials to the Punxsutawney-based State Police.

The Borough Council President indicated that Kerran Snyder was given the position as the Worthville Borough secretary/treasurer in 2013; he noted that he would sign checks in advance. He stated that he was contacted by a member of the Ringgold Fire Department two weeks prior regarding a $150.00 check written out to the department on November 14, 2018, relating there was insufficient funds when they attempted to cash the check on February 4, 2019.

The Borough Council President then contacted Snyder by phone and was informed “she would take care of it.” Approximately one week later, the president received a call from Oliver Township Fire Department stating another check came back as insufficient funds. The president contacted Snyder again and left a voicemail, but then went to a bank in Punxsutawney, where he was provided with the Worthville Borough General Funds Checking Account Statements.

The statements were reviewed by the borough president, and he took them to the other borough council members.

According to the complaint, they discovered numerous discrepancies which made them suspicious that a crime was being committed against the Borough. The president indicated they noticed an automatic payment for a water bill, and noted Worthville doesn’t have public water, they have wells. They also noticed a First Energy Electric and Comcast payments which were not that of the Borough.

The complaint notes that at the January 2019 council meeting, Snyder gave the report of the checking account having $21,000.00.

According to the complaint, the Borough Council President indicated that discrepancies were discovered for a Liquid Fuel Tax Account which was a separate checking account at another bank, that should have approximately $2,700.00 as he believed the borough received $1,500.00 to $1,600.00 for 2019 alone. The president provided the known monthly and yearly bills associated to the Borough and indicated that Snyder was taken off of the bank account on February 27, 2019. He also provided Trooper Mosier with the documents and account information for the Worthville Borough Financials for her to appropriately initiate the investigation into this matter.

The complaint notes that around 6:08 p.m. on August 13, 2019, Snyder was interviewed at the Punxsutawney-based State Police barracks.

According to the complaint, Snyder admitted to utilizing the Worthville Borough checking account to pay her personal bills and to write out checks to herself for cash. When inquired about how much she had stolen, she allegedly indicated that she did not know for sure and would have to look through the documents to give the most accurate total amount stolen.

When asked if the amount exceeded $20,000.00, Snyder agreed that she stole at least that amount and probably more. When asked about the amount being in the approximate range of $50,000.00, she agreed that it is possible that it was around that amount, according to the complaint.

Around 7:30 p.m. on August 13, Troopers Mosier and Suprano accompanied Snyder to her residence in Punxsutawney where she retrieved a booklet full of blank checks which belong to Worthville Borough and then to her place of employment in Punxsutawney where she retrieved another booklet full of blank checks, a seal, and two boxes full of documents which belong to Worthville Borough.

On September 3, Trooper Mosier met with members of the Worthville Borough Council to discuss exact monthly and yearly bills and financials associated to the Worthville Borough which were important to complete a thorough forensic analysis of the Borough Financial documents. Trooper Mosier then worked in conjunction with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office and PSP Troop C Forensic Services Unit to complete a forensic analysis of Worthville Borough Financial Documents from 2013 through January 2019.

According to the complaint, based on the analysis of the financial documents, numerous discrepancies were discovered regarding payments/checks written out for activity not connected to the Borough from January 2015 through January 2019. The discrepancies were linked to apparent checks wrote out for “cash” by Snyder to herself and direct deposits for payments of Snyder’s personal bills.

The complaint notes the total amount stolen from Worthville Borough by Snyder was identified to be $47,331.90.

Snyder was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Jacqueline J. Mizerock at 9:22 a.m. on Tuesday, October 8.


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