UPDATE: Former Girl Scouts admits to robbing cookie jar
A top official of the New York City Girl Scouts pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing from the organization.
Yaasmin Hooey, the former finance director of the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, siphoned funds from the nonprofit directly into her pockets.
Hooey, 35, was indicted in October for stealing $311,586 from the Scouts. She will be sentenced March 6, prosecutors said, and is expected to face two to six years in prison.
“Nonprofits are not personal cookie jars,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, unable to resist a quip.
After she pleaded guilty, Vance said she let down Girl Scouts. “It was an enormous violation of the trust the Scouts placed in her as their director of finance, as well as the trust of the many girls that the organization serves.”
She spent the money on gym memberships, cosmetic procedures and $14,000 worth of bling for herself, according to court documents.
Hooey was an employee of the Manhattan-based group for two years before being hired full-time as their director of finance, which gave her access to the bank accounts, writing checks and transferring money.
She admitted writing 65 checks from the payroll account to herself, forging the signature of the Girl Scout’s CEO. She also transferred money straight into her personal account.
Not only did Hooey steal from an organization where young girls spend hours selling cookies to raise money, she also violated the trust of the girls that the organization serves, Vance said.
She was also charged with failing to file her taxes, and failing to include the money she stole.
According to her Facebook profile, martial arts are a hobby of Hooey’s.
Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro.
