WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Police say a Luzerne County court employee is being charged with stealing $300,00 over five years in cash, checks, and money orders from the magistrate’s office.
According to the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, in December 2022 investigators were contacted by a Luzerne County Court administrator regarding missing funds from Magisterial District Judge Thomas Malloy’s office on Hazle Street in Wilkes-Barre.
After a routine audit was done, irregularities were found where over $60,000 were missing. The audit showed 48 times where payments from defendants had been submitted to the court but not deposited into the office’s bank account, police stated.
There was another instance where police say, Judge Malloy had signed a number of checks to give money to the City of Wilkes-Barre and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, but those checks were never received.
Investigators say that a review of the books showed Lisa Price, 47, of Wilkes-Barre, was responsible for preparing the deposits. Through further investigation, detectives believed Price stole funds between January 2018-March 2022 and would hide the cash and checks in her belongings before leaving at the end of her workday
In total, officers state Price stole:
- $77,482 in currency
- $41,174 in checks payable to the court
- $11,263 in money orders payable to the court
- $130,245 in payments belonging to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
- $39,874 in payments belonging to the City of Wilkes-Barre
Price has been charged with five counts of theft by unlawful taking. She was arraigned and released after posting the $50,000.
Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 5.
