Florida Woman Said It Was ‘Easy’ to Steal From Girl Scouts, Takes $85,000

One Florida woman failed to uphold the Girl Scout Promise.

Stephanie Person, 41, was arrested Wednesday for stealing nearly $85,000 from the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast, Florida, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. She faces charges of grand theft and scheme to defraud.

Detectives began investigating in May after the CEO of the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida noticed more than $75,000 was missing from their account.

As the organization’s member services coordinator, Person was responsible for managing 500 troops. She allegedly diverted funds from the accounts of five troops to an inactive account for her own expenses, the News-Press reported.

Person told the sheriff’s office she started stealing because she was going through tough financial times. She planned to pay the money back, according to the News-Press, but never fixed her financial problems. When she realized how easy it was to take money from the Girl Scouts, she could not stop, the sheriff’s office statement said.

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She is being held at the Sarasota County Jail on $9,000 bond.