'You Should Resign Right Now': Hundreds Pack Kennett Township Meeting After Former Manager Allegedly Stole $3.2 Million
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (CBS) -- Hundreds of people packed a meeting in Kennett Square Tuesday night to find out how millions of their taxpayer dollars were stolen. Residents went so far as to call for township officials to resign, saying the theft should've been caught sooner.
They also didn't care for one suggestion on how to recover the embezzled money.
"Finding out that someone who manages your town stole $3.2 million, I'm just curious as to how exactly something like that could happen," resident Todd Johnson said.
Six years was all it took for Lisa Moore to become a millionaire after she allegedly embezzled $3.2 million from Kennett Township as the former township manager.
"Simply put, I think if somebody opened a piece of mail or answered the phone when the bank called they probably would have uncovered this a lot sooner," resident Jessica Kriss said.
The investigation into Moore started back in early April after the township received a phone call from Capital One's fraud department, alerting them to a large transaction that seemed strange.
That's when the scheme began to unravel.
Police were contacted and eight months later, the township learned just how much Moore is accused of stealing.
As the former township manager, Moore was in charge of all finances. According to the township's Board of Supervisors, Moore would not allow staff to open bank or credit card statements.
Moore also allegedly used a phony rubber stamp of Scudder Stevens, the chair of Kennett Township's Board of Supervisors, to sign checks and create memos to approve overtime for herself as a salaried employee.
"Are all of you going to resign? It seems that you should resign right now," one man asked.
Moore has been charged with 115 felony crimes.
The new township manager says they are trying to avoid raising taxes to recover the embezzled cash.
Meanwhile, Moore was released on $500,000 unsecured bond after an arraignment last week.
