Woman accused of stealing thousands of dollars from several nonprofits

KITTANNING, Pa. — A woman is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from several nonprofit organizations in Kittanning.

Court paperwork showed Beverly Steffey is charged with stealing nearly $130,000 from the Progressive Workshop over the several years she worked as its fiscal officer. Progressive Workshop is a nonprofit organization that helps find work and provides job training for people with mental disabilities in Armstrong County.

"Any money that comes in goes directly to staff costs or operational costs. There's not a whole lot of extra, so to speak,” Progressive Workshop CEO Michelle Reefer said.

Steffey is also accused of stealing another $90,000 from the Allegheny Valley Land Trust and Armstrong County Conservancy Charitable Trust.

According to the criminal complaint, Steffey admitted to forging signatures and cashing void checks from the nonprofits.

The criminal complaint said, "Steffey confessed to having an addiction to shopping and liked living above her means. She stated that she maxed out her credit cards and had to make high payments."

Reefer said Progressive Workshop is helping 130 people and plans to continue growing.

"I think it's important for our community to know that we're not going anywhere. We'll be here for another 50 years," she said.

Channel 11’s Aaron Martin spoke with Steffey over the phone, who would only say, “No comment,” regarding the allegations against her.

Steffey is scheduled to be in court again July 13

Cox Media Group