The former property manager of Thornhurst Country Club Estates faces multiple counts of theft and forgery for allegedly stealing more than $46,000 from the development over a four-year period.
The Lackawanna County district attorney's office accused Robin Anne Hess of writing checks for $5,939 on Thornhurst Estates accounts for her personal use - including three to a bankruptcy attorney - and paying herself an extra $36,414 in salary without the knowledge of the board of directors.
Ms. Hess, who was the property manager for 12 years, also opened a Sears credit card in the community's name and charged $3,754 in personal expenses, including clothing, automobile tires and gift cards, investigators said.
Ms. Hess, 45, of 8108 Cherry Blossom Lane, Pocono Lake, was released on $25,000 unsecured bail after her arraignment Tuesday. She faces a preliminary hearing Feb. 13 at 9 a.m.
According to the arrest affidavit prepared by county Detective Chief Joseph Jordan, Thornhurst Estates resident Tami Berry noticed irregularities in the development's business operations shortly after taking over in May as president of the board of directors.
Ms. Berry, who has an accounting background, discovered Ms. Hess' payroll deduction showed a substantial increase in her salary for a four-year period, as well as checks written for her personal use and the Sears credit card account with personal charges, the affidavit said.
The board suspended Ms. Hess on Oct. 25, and she resigned three days later.
Investigators charged Ms. Hess with writing 10 unauthorized checks - seven totaling $2,876 made payable to her or to cash and three totaling $3,063 to bankruptcy attorney Charles Dehart. The affidavit said Ms. Hess filed for bankruptcy in 2011.
All of the checks had forged signatures of Thornhurst Estates board members, the affidavit said.
The unauthorized increases in Ms. Hess' salary began in 2009, when she received an extra $7,782, according to investigators. She received an additional $7,177 in 2010 and $7,629 in 2011 before the amount jumped to $13,826 last year.
She is charged with 12 counts of theft by unlawful taking, 10 counts of forgery and one count of access device fraud.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com