Posted on: November 11, 2024, 07:44h.
Last updated on: November 11, 2024, 10:06h.
A former city treasurer in Uniontown, Pa. has been convicted for the embezzlement of $106K in public funds to support a $1.5K-per-day lottery habit.
Antoinette Hodge, 54, is separately accused of stealing an additional $112,484 from the Youghiogheny Western Baptist Association (YWBA) and is scheduled to face trial on forgery charges in that case next month.
On November 7, a Fayette County jury found Hodge guilty of charges including unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and obstructing administration of law or other governmental functions.
‘Trust Abused’
Earlier, the jury heard that Hodge began abusing her position shortly after she was elected Uniontown City Treasurer in 2019.
Her main responsibility was to collect and deposit cash and checks received by the tax office. Between 2020 and 2021, she failed to deposit more than $106K in cash, using the money instead for personal expenses, including vacations, casino gambling, and her expensive lottery fixation.
The defendant was elected to a position of trust in her community. She abused that trust and defrauded taxpayers for her own gain,” Attorney General Henry said. “Prosecuting these crimes is vital to maintaining the integrity of local government. My office will continue to protect taxpayers and ensure that any individual who tries to abuse their position will face the consequences of their actions.”
Following an investigation, Hodge was indicted by a statewide grand jury in December 2022. Despite this, she ran for reelection in the Democratic primary in May 2023, but lost her party’s nomination. She left office when her term expired at the end of last year.
Uniontown Mayor Bill Gerke told The Herald-Standard that the incident had prompted changes to the way the tax office operates.
“At city hall, we stopped accepting cash payments, we only take checks or money orders now,” Gerke said. “And that is one of many things we’ve done to make sure something like this doesn’t happen down the road.”
Financial Distress
Hodge will be sentenced on November 21 and will be back in court next month to face 33 counts of forgery and three counts of theft in the YWBA case.
Prosecutors claim Hodge used her position as YWBA chairperson to oversee the association’s bank accounts and failed to pay bills or real estate taxes. She also forged the signatures of organization members who were authorized to sign checks, making them out to “cash,” prosecutors added.
Fayette County District Attorney Richard Bower said Hodge “substantially depleted” the organization’s funds leaving it in financial distress.
