Convenience store clerk accused of stealing $84,000 from ATM

A Danville, Pennsylvania, woman is charged with pocketing more than $80,000 from an ATM that she was supposed to be filling each day at the gas station where she worked.

Tracy Truesell, 51, of East Market Street, is charged with six felonies — three counts of theft, two counts of forgery and one count of receiving stolen property — and two misdemeanor counts of tampering with records and misapplication of property of a financial institution, according to court documents.

She was arraigned Monday by District Judge Marvin Shrawder. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 9:15 a.m. July 16 in Shrawder’s office.

Truesell allegedly stole more than $84,000 from the ATM at the combination convenience store and Subway restaurant on McCracken Road where she had worked over a period of three years, police said. The location is owned by the Leighow Oil Co.

Truesell, who had been employed by Leighow since 1999, was responsible for “maintaining receipts and records of daily monies collected upon closing and receipts and records of deposited monies into the ATM,” when she was promoted to a supervisory position in February 2010, police said.

Police were called to the store in April when an internal audit revealed thousands of dollars per month was going missing from the ATM, according to court documents. The audit revealed, for example, that more than $6,000 was unaccounted for in November 2010, according to documents.

Truesell was the only employee with a key to the ATM, police said.

When questioned, she told police she had been taking money that was supposed to be deposited into the ATM, pocketing anywhere from $20 to $500 per week and falsifying records to reflect the missing currency, officers said. Truesell estimated she took more than $70,000, police said.

The investigation also revealed money missing that was paid to the station by Sani-Air Services Commission for commission of sales to the store, police said. Truesell also was responsible for depositing this money, according to police.

The investigation revealed that between February 2010 and March, more than $84,000 was unaccounted for, according to court documents.

Truesell allegedly told police she used the money for bills and “if funds were short,” although she never told her husband or anyone else about her actions, according to court documents.

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