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Lisa Herbinko, the 49-year-old former treasurer of the Reading Education Association, is charged with multiple felonies for allegedly stealing $400,000 from union coffers, said Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams.
Around 2014, investigators say Herbinko began secretly making withdrawals from union accounts and depositing the funds into personal accounts belonging to herself and her young daughter.
In total, officials say she embezzled $398,620.87 from her fellow members — nearly twice the amount in the union's bank account as of December.
During the same period, detectives claim, the then-treasurer failed to file state or federal taxes on the union's behalf and did not make required payments to the Pennsylvania State Education Association. She filed phony reports to cover her tracks and claim that the bills had been paid, police believe.
Authorities say Herbinko was confronted in September by the union's president and resigned from her post after offering to pay back the money in full. To date, REA has not received a dime from its former treasurer, the DA says.
"PSEA and the Reading Education Association are monitoring this case very closely and cooperating with law enforcement," Assistant Communications Director Chris Lilienthal told Daily Voice. "We have no further comment at this time.”
Police issued a warrant for Herbinko's arrest on Thursday, Jan. 5 and she surrendered later that day, according to prosecutors. She's charged with multiple felonies related to theft and tampering with public records.
Herbinko was released on $15,000 bail and is due back for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 23, court records show.
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