Talk about getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar.
The former finance director for the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York has been busted on charges she embezzled $310,000 over the course of two years.
That’s enough for more than 88,000 boxes of Thin Mints.
Yaasmin Hooey, 35, of Manhattan, stole the money by cashing or depositing into her personal bank account a series of 65 checks written off the Girl Scouts’ payroll account, according to the indictment against her.
Each time, she would forge the signature of council bigwigs, prosecutors say. Then she’d splurge on such perks as a lesbian cruise with her girlfriend, according to one law enforcement source.
“Nonprofits are not personal cookie jars,” Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance noted in a statement released today, after Hooey was hauled to court in cuffs and a “Love conquers hate” T-shirt.
“The defendant’s charged crimes not only violated the trust of the Girl Scout organization, but the trust of the girls that the organization serves. The District Attorney’s Office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes against nonprofit organizations.”
She used the stolen loot to buy a $13,000 diamond ring, a cosmetic laser procedure, gym memberships, clothing, concert tickets and travel, prosecutors say.
At least one of those trips was a lesbian cruise, taken with her girlfriend, said one law enforcement source.
“She began stealing from the non-profit as soon as she began working for them,” said assistant district attorney Lauren Littman.
The tattooed and fit Hooey pleaded not guilty to grand larceny and forgery charges today in a brief hearing. Her lawyer, Hershel Katz, told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Rene White that Hooey worked most recently as a martial arts instructor.
The lawyer told the judge it was “highly unlikely” that Hooey could pay any of the loot back.
“She’s denying everything as of right now,” Katz said.