Girl Scouts Troop Leader Admits Stealing Cookie Money

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. - A former Girls Scouts troop leader from Mendota Heights, Minnesota has been charged with stealing money from the troop's annual cookie sale to pay bills, gamble and buy sports equipment.

Joleen Marie Hopkins, 54, was charged in Dakota County with two felony counts of theft-by-swindle and four counts of theft, including one felony theft charge. The charges stem from the alleged theft of proceeds from Girl Scouts cookie sales in March 2009.

According to the criminal complaint, Hopkins became a Girl Scouts troop leader for a Mendota Heights troop in 2005 and her husband was the troop's cookie manager. In their roles with the Girls Scouts, the Hopkins were responsible for collecting a money from the troop's cookie sales and depositing the cash and checks into a troop bank account.

Chapter documents show Hopkins' troop collected a total of $8,515.50 in 2009 cookie sales. Of that amount, $1,459.80 should have been deposited into the troop's checking account and $7,055.70 should have been deposited to the chapter's account. Records show $781.20 was deposited into the troop account and $6,271 was deposited into the chapter account.

Of the $6,271 deposited to the chapter account, Hopkins wrote six personal and business checks totaling $2,150.50, which were returned unpaid to the chapter as "unable to locate account."

Mendota Heights police traced those checks to accounts that had been closed in 2006 and 2007 due to large dollar overdrafts made by Hopkins. The Girl Scouts chapter opened its own investigation and looked into the sales records of Hopkins' troop in 2008, finding more checks returned unpaid as "unable to locate."

A police investigator reviewed bank statements and found Hopkins spent $200 on personal items like gas and groceries between December 2007 and January 2008. As of February 2008, the account had been depleted to a balance of $15.

Further investigation revealed that between February 2008 and April 2009, Hopkins had spent more than $3,000 as casinos, auto part stores, restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores and businesses in Wisconsin. The Girl Scouts chapter closed the troop account I n April 2009 as a result of their investigative findings.

On July 1, 2009, in an interview with police, Hopkins admitted to fraud and mishandling of money. She said personal bills were piling up because both she and her husband were unemployed for a long period of time.

Hopkins admitted to paying bills, gambling and buying sports equipment for her daughter with Girl Scouts funds. She said she stole approximately $5,000 but records show the amount stolen totaling an estimated $8,214.22.