Ex-Gregg Township Official Jailed for $533K Gambling Embezzlement

A former township official from Pennsylvania who admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars to fuel a gambling addiction will spend time behind bars.

Earlier in the week, Centre County Judge Katie Oliver sentenced 56-year-old P.D.H. of Union County to a state prison sentence of two to four years, which will be followed by two years of probation. H., once the secretary and treasurer of Gregg Township in Centre County, will also have to pay back more than $615,000. 

That figure covers the $533,000 she stole, as well as tax penalties, legal costs, and other related expenses.

She Exploited Her Position for Six Years

Judge Oliver called the crimes “egregious,” noting they stretched across nearly H.’s entire six-year tenure, and ultimately sided with prosecutors, who argued that the woman had systematically exploited her position.

Centre County Deputy District Attorney Crystal Hundt described H. as a deliberate embezzler who abused her exclusive control of township bank accounts. “She didn’t just steal from the employees of Gregg Township,” Hundt wrote in a sentencing memo. “She stole from each and every taxpayer of Gregg Township.”

According to investigators, H. charged personal purchases on township credit cards 3,664 times between March 2019 (two months after she was hired) and May 2024. She used more than $322,000 for her gambling by making 2,700 card purchases to DraftKings alone, and funneled herself another $150,000 using Venmo. 

Prosecutors also showed that the woman, who was suspended without pay last spring and officially fired in December, began using township funds to cover her daily expenses, including shopping, meals, utilities, nail salons, and even liquor stores.

Devastating Impact on the Community

Like in many other similar financial crime cases, the impact on the rural community of roughly 2,260 residents has been profound. Supervisor Carol Gingrich described life in “constant turmoil” since the thefts came to light. Fellow Supervisor Vicky Vanada said road projects remain delayed, and both suggested that the stress from the scandal weighed heavily on former board chair Charles Stover, who passed away earlier this year.

Community members didn’t mince words during sentencing, with one resident calling H. a “chameleon” and a “predator.” 

H., who has since joined Gamblers Anonymous and attends counseling, apologized through tears. “It was never my intention to hurt you all,” she said. “The past six years were a blur for me… I am extremely disappointed in myself.”

Township leaders have since tightened oversight, requiring regular reviews of financial statements and background checks. Board chair Ben Haupt said he hopes H. finds help: “gets straightened out because that’s what she needs.

Similarly, just last month, the US Attorney’s Office in Maryland started criminal proceedings against the former president of the Maryland Parent Teacher Association on charges of using $1 million in public funds to pay for gambling, voodoo sex spells, and luxury vacations.