Woman accused of stealing $116,000 from Salvation Army

A major in the Salvation Army was accused of stealing more than $116,000 from the nonprofit, according to Tamaqua police.

Sharon L. Whispell, 52, of York, was arrested Thursday and arraigned on charges of theft by deception, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and tampering with records. She was sent to Schuylkill County Prison under $25,000 bail.

The investigation into the stolen money began in June when members of the Salvation Army Command Unit informed Tamaqua police of discrepancies in financial paperwork submitted by Whispell, a major in the Salvation Army, police said. Another major, described as someone with 15 years of exemplary service, informed Tamaqua police that they would be conducting an audit of their financial records, police said.

Salvation Army officials told police that the audit found that $116,913.33 has been missing since 2015, police said. Tamaqua police prepared a warrant on Wednesday.