SPRING MILLS — The former secretary and treasurer for a small rural township in Centre County was arrested the day before Thanksgiving for allegedly stealing more than half a million dollars in public funds.
Pamela Hackenburg, 55, of Millmont, was charged with theft and receiving stolen property, both first-degree felonies, as well as identity theft and access device fraud, both third-degree felonies, according to the criminal complaint.
Hackenburg was hired by Gregg Township in January 2019 and became responsible for 14 separate bank accounts, an investigator for State Police wrote in the complaint. She was the only person in the township with password access to them, maintained a locked office in the municipal building, and “would never allow anyone inside her office,” the complaint said.
Between March 2019 and May 2024, Hackenburg allegedly took advantage of this total control over township finances and made unauthorized, personal charges totaling $532,747.67 using township credit cards, State Police alleged.
Hackenburg spent a large portion of the misappropriation on gambling, the investigator alleged. Starting in January 2023, approximately $20,000 each month — on her township credit card and the card of another employee — was spent on DraftKings, a national sportsbook and daily fantasy sports betting provider.
Two other township employees would routinely use credit cards issued to them for work-related expenses like fuel and maintenance supplies. State Police say that’s how the unlawful spending was discovered.
Jim Smith, the township emergency management coordinator, received a credit card statement in the mail unexpectedly earlier this year; such statements were typically sent to Hackenburg. Smith suspected fraudulent transactions were made based on the statement and reported them to First National Bank.
Gregg Township’s Board of Supervisors put Hackenburg on unpaid suspension when they were alerted in May and subsequently hired accountants to audit the local government’s books. The complaint said accountants found Hackenburg’s locked office to be “a mess.”
“There were piles of papers, old checks signed but not deposited, no filing system, and nothing was up to date,” the complaint said.
Gregg Township’s books were “reconciled and up to date” prior to Hackenburg’s employment, the accountants determined. To keep the alleged theft hidden from township officials, Hackenburg obfuscated balances in township expenditures, fabricated data in the budgets she provided supervisors, and drew money from a $500,000 township road project loan — a restricted fund for work that hadn’t started yet — to pay off the credit cards, according to the criminal complaint.
Gregg Township updated its website with news of Hackenburg’s arrest and said more details will follow. Township Solicitor David Gaines told Spotlight PA that the board will discuss her possible termination at the Dec. 12 meeting. Residents have demanded an explanation from elected leaders in the months since the board first made the issue known.
The two first-degree felonies Hackenburg faces can carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison each, and the two third-degree felonies can carry a sentence of up to seven years in prison each.
Hackenburg was released on an unsecured bail of $500,000. The preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 11.
Hackenburg could not be reached for comment, and court documents don’t list an attorney for her.
