A Kentucky Girl Scout troop leader is accused of running off with over 6,000 boxes of cookies, local officials say.
Leah Ann Vick, 26, was arrested Monday after being accused of stealing cookies that were meant for local troops to sell.
Vick signed for more than $26,000 worth of cookies, said Haleigh McGraw, Kentucky's Wilderness Road Girl Scout marketing director.
The local Girl Scout officials have been trying to collect payment for the cookies since February, but have had no luck.
"We started contacting her. She did let us know that: 'I am sorry, it must have been a mistake, I will get those funds back to you,'" McGraw said.
But that has not happened, McGraw said.
A Pike County Circuit Court grand jury charged Vick with felony theft, according to county Commonwealth's Attorney Rick Bartley. There is an ongoing police investigation, Bartley said.
"It is not clear if the troops sold the cookies and she kept the money or she sold the cookies herself and kept the money," Bartley said.
Girl Scout troops sign an agreement to fulfill the total cost for the boxes of cookies they plan to sell, McGraw said. The organization fronts the money until Scouts sell their cookies and send back the funds, she said. Vick was in charge of the cookie order.
"Right now our biggest concern is actually focusing on recovering and maintaining the troop for the girls. They use those funds for service projects, educational trips. The biggest point of the cookies sale is actually financial literacy," McGraw said.
If convicted, Vick could face up to 10 years in prison. She is being held in the Pike County Detention Center and will be arraigned May 26. Vick could not be reached for comment and it was unclear if she has an attorney.
