Newport, PA, man charged in $9,000 theft from Scout troop

[left-of-center2012]

Earlier this year, the former treasurer for Boy Scout Troop 222 in Newport was charged by state police with allegedly stealing more than $9,000 from the troop over the course of four years.Kenneth R. Wright, 53, was charged in May with three theft felonies. The missing funds were discovered during a financial audit in January 2019, according to court documents.

Troop 222 Chairperson Brenda Flanders told police Wright allegedly made a series of unauthorized purchases using a debit card linked to a bank account for the Scout troop. All total, there were 81 unauthorized debit purchases and one unauthorized check between July 3, 2015, and Aug. 19, 2019, according to court documents. Troop leaders told police they were unaware Wright had a debit card connected to the troop’s bank account until the audit, according to court documents.

Former Scoutmaster Kenneth Wentzel told police all purchases were supposed to be made using checks because they required two signatures, according to the court documents. And large monetary purchases were supposed to be approved prior to spending the money. Receipts were to be turned in to the troop to track expenditures. Wright was unable to produce receipts for purchases when the audit was done, Wentzel told police.

In June, troopers interviewed Wright at the Newport station about the Boy Scout troop’s finances and purchases. Wright allegedly told police he had used the debit card to make food purchases due to his family’s dire financial situations, and that he was filing for bankruptcy, according to court documents. He allegedly told police he was unaware the purchases had amounted to the $9,027.32 found by auditors and had intended to pay back the money.

The specific charges Wright is facing are theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, all third-degree felonies. He is also charged with misdemeanor possession of an access device knowing it was counterfeit or altered.

A call to Wright’s attorney Kevin Prosser was not immediately returned.

https://www.pennlive.com/perry-county-times/2020/09/newport-man-charged-in-9000-theft-from-scout-troop.html

[Beakybird]

1. There is a lot of fraud in organized kid sports and scouting.