Woman arraigned on theft charges
State police have arraigned a Staten Island, N.Y., woman on charges she allegedly stole more than $1,450 from the Fayette County controller’s office in 2007. State police Trooper Thomas B. Broadwater said Yaisha S. Hadley, 38, was charged with multiple counts of access device fraud, theft by deception and receiving stolen property. She was taken into custody last week in New York City after Senior Magisterial District Judge Robert Breakiron issued a warrant for her arrest earlier this year.
Broadwater said police started investigating a series of thefts from the controller’s office in March 2008 after the county treasurer’s office discovered discrepancies in the account.
Controller Sean P. Lally said that after he was made aware of the transactions, he used account numbers and routing information to track the unauthorized transactions to Hadley in New York.
According to Broadwater, Hadley made five unauthorized transactions using money from the county’s general fund totaling $1,450 between Sept. 18, 2007, and Oct. 9, 2007.
Broadwater said the investigation revealed that Hadley used the account to make payments to Sears, AT&T Cellular, Time Warner and Con Edison, an electric company in New York.
Broadwater said the transactions were completed without the knowledge or permission of the controller’s office.
He said that the incident is similar to identity theft but noted that instead of stealing the account information of a person, Hadley stole the account information of the county.
Lally said that after the theft was discovered last year, National City Bank refunded the money to the county so the county wouldn’t suffer a financial loss.
Hadley was placed in the Fayette County Prison on $1,500 straight cash bond following her arraignment.
A preliminary hearing will be held at a later date in Uniontown.