Woman Steals $100K+ from Non-profit, Faces Consequences

A woman who stole $100,000+ from a non-profit organization was sentenced on Wednesday, February 25, resulting in a 10-year deferred adjudication sentence.

The presiding judge, District Judge Kerry Russell, found Dawn Michelle Pitcock approved the sentence following a pre-sentence investigation. 

Woman Found Guilty of Stealing from Non-profit, Must Make Amends 

To avoid the lengthy prison time, Pitcock would have to meet several criteria, including a full restitution of the money – $117,010.65 as well as 240 hours of community services. She will also sit 50 days in a county jail.

She would have to pay at least $1,300 per month to meet her restitution obligations and reimburse Hand Up Network over the next decade. 

The investigators caught a trace of Pitcock after money was reported missing by the non-profit CEO, who said that the organizaiton’s debit card was used at the Lake Charles casino – something clearly not allowed.

Because of this, the organization looked into other transactions, finding 283 transactions from Apple.com dating back to March 2024, spending a total of $96,826.58.  

The money was spent to purchase virtual chips for an online casino game on numerous occasions, funding her habit from two separate devices, according to the investigation. 

Pitcock Maintained Her Innocence During the Investigation 

Before her actions were uncovered, Pitcock tried to convince the non-profit that the card had been used by mistake – she was Hands Up’s accountant at the time. Before her sentencing, Pitcock tried to defend herself as the victim of a series of unfortunate events.

For example, she told investigators that her Apple account had been hacked and that her iPad had been used by others. She also insisted that she had lost her phone around the Hands Up store on more than one occasion, thus suggesting that she inadvertently gave others access to it.

However, the organization’s CEO believed that she had “stolen” the money, and was fired, leading to the trial that handed down her verdict.