This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA , an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown .
Gregg Township, Pa. — Pamela Hackenburg knew her way around QuickBooks and had an associate’s degree in finance and accounting. This made her the top candidate in 2019 when she was hired to be this rural township’s new secretary and treasurer.
It also allegedly helped her perpetrate a massive scam spanning years.
Hackenburg stands accused of stealing almost $533,000 in public dollars, beginning just a few months after she took the job until earlier this year. By the time Gregg Township in Centre County sent outside accountants to clean out her locked office, it was a complete “mess,” with piles of papers and uncashed checks strewn everywhere, according to a charging document.