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Greene County tax collector charged with theft, forgery

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A Greene County tax collector faces 49 counts in connection with the theft of $90,183 from Gilmore Township and West Greene School District funds.

Gilmore Township Tax Collector Lisa L. Gatrell, 54, of New Freeport, was charged Monday with theft and forgery, accused of misappropriating the money between March and October 2019.

State police in Waynesburg alleged Gatrell, who was elected tax collector in 2013 and again in 2017, forged at least six checks and misused two pre-signed checks.

According to court documents, Gatrell wrote 28 checks on the tax collector’s account, made payable to and endorsed on the back by Gatrell. She attempted to write an additional three checks from the same account to herself on Oct. 1, 2019, but Community Bank denied the disbursement of funds, according to the complaint.

Police said Gatrell made 73 point-of-sale transactions from Gilmore Township Supplies bank account to PA Lottery Play in August 2019.

She also is accused of making four transfers from the Gilmore Township General Fund account to the township tax collector account, which are abnormal transactions between the accounts, court paperwork states.

The business manager for West Greene School District told state police on Oct. 3, 2019, that she was notified by Community Bank about unusual checks written on the Gilmore Township tax collector account to Gatrell, police reported.

An audit of township accounts conducted by Cypher and Cypher Certified Public Accountants revealed the misappropriation, according to court documents.

Gatrell was charged Monday with 39 counts of theft, eight counts of forgery and two counts of misapplication of entrusted property. She was released on an unsecured bond of $90,000. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 28 before Magisterial District Judge David Balint.

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