WEST CHESTER, PA — A resident of Royersford, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in court to 1-3 years imprisonment, plus four years of probation, for access device fraud and identity theft, announced Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan.
County Court of Common Pleas Judge Ann Marie Wheatcraft imposed the sentence this week on Shelly Gaugler, 45, who was previously found guilty of using a Girl Scout Troop debit card in 2019 to charge $525 to a law firm in Pottstown. The defendant failed to appear for her scheduled trial after receiving notice to attend and she fled to Virginia. The trial was held in her absence in August 2022.
According to information presented to the Court, on Oct. 25, 2019, Tredyffrin Township Police were notified by the victim after she discovered an unknown charge made on her Girl Scout Troop debit card for which she was an authorized owner. The subsequent investigation showed that the defendant stole the debit card information when the Girl Scout Troop purchased t-shirts from a store where she worked. Detectives learned that the defendant used the debit card to pay her bankruptcy attorney.
Assistant District Attorney William Buckman prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan commended the Tredyffrin Township Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Shelly Gaugler.
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