LOWER MERION — A second employee at a district court in Lower Merion Township is accused of stealing government funds by participating in a scheme with a co-worker to pocket monies people paid for traffic and parking-related citations.
Patricia Anne Althouse, 55, of the 700 block of Ardmore Avenue in Lower Merion, turned herself in to authorities on Wednesday and was arraigned on charges of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, misapplication of entrusted property, securing execution of documents by deception and obstructing the administration of law or government functions.
The charges were filed over thefts that occurred from January to October 2024 while she worked as the traffic clerk in the office of District Court Judge Michael Quinn in the Narberth section of Lower Merion.
Althouse, who worked for the court for 34 years, was released on $5,000 unsecured bail with a scheduled Feb. 27 preliminary hearing on the charges before District Judge Henry Schireson.
Lisa Anne Shopa, 58, of the 400 block of Wynne Avenue, Haverford Township, Delaware County, previously was charged with identical offenses in the alleged theft scheme. Shopa waived her preliminary hearing.
The investigation by Montgomery County detectives ultimately found that Shopa and Althouse conspired to steal traffic and parking fines totaling at least $7,499.49 and then falsified court records to cover up the thefts.
“The significant theft and tampering with official court records by these defendants is egregious and undermines the integrity of the judicial system. We take these crimes very seriously,” county District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said on Wednesday. “By altering the court record and stealing these fine monies, the defendants were also depriving governmental agencies of much-needed funds, for instance, monies that help car crash victims suffering from catastrophic injuries or the Emergency Medical Services Operating Fund and impacted PennDOT and its ability to suspend driving privileges or otherwise carry out required penalties.”
Patricia Althouse (Photo courtesy Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office)
The investigation began in September when county detectives were made aware of thefts occurring at the district court office at 925 Montgomery Ave. Detectives then reviewed various traffic and parking-related citations for which individuals pleaded guilty and paid their fines in cash.
“Generally, a day or two after these individuals pled guilty and paid their fines the cases would be marked withdrawn in the computer by the office manager, Lisa Shopa, and no money was inputted into the system or returned to the original payer,” county Detective Lt. William Robert Mitchell Jr. wrote in the arrest affidavit.
For example, on June 16, a woman pleaded guilty to three separate traffic citations and paid $450.75 in cash. However, on June 25, Shopa allegedly marked two of the parking citations as withdrawn and recorded only one citation as guilty with a payment of $118. The remaining $332.75 cash payment “was stolen by Shopa and never properly assessed to the citations,” according to the criminal complaint.
During an Oct. 4 transaction, a man paid three citations and paid a total of $674.50 in cash and the citation allegedly was withdrawn by Shopa on Oct. 9.
During the investigation, detectives obtained images from the district court’s video surveillance system that captured the cash payments being made to Shopa.
During the investigation, other court employees told officials that Shopa, the senior clerk and supervisor for the court staff, made a directive that all cash payments were to be given directly to her and the employees should issue hand receipts written to the payer.
“Shopa stated she alone would enter the payment information into the computer system. This is an improper way to hand cash payments and all receipts should be issued through the computer system,” Mitchell wrote.
A review of traffic-related offenses that were withdrawn by Shopa between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31 uncovered the thefts of local and state government funds, according to the arrest affidavit.
“Shopa intentionally defrauded the local, county and state governments by illegally altering the final dispositions of the aforementioned cases, as well as other cases yet unknown to law enforcement,” Mitchell alleged, adding the joint actions by Shopa and Althouse “undermine the integrity of the judicial system and deprive critical agencies of essential funding.”
Some fines levied on traffic citations are used to fund emergency services throughout the state, officials said.
Lisa Shopa (Photo courtesy Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office)
Detectives obtained a warrant to search the office on Nov. 8.
“During the search, U.S. currency was found loose in Shopa’s desk without any indication on what case it belonged to,” Mitchell wrote.
When detectives interviewed Shopa on Dec. 18, she admitted to stealing the cash payments and altering the records in the judicial administration system to hide the theft activity, according to the arrest affidavit.
“Shopa believes these actions began approximately 3 years ago when she was in a severe financial strain,” Mitchell said in the document, adding that Shopa confirmed the method she used to carry out the theft scheme and said the amount stolen would vary from week to week.
Additionally, Shopa allegedly told detectives she conspired with Althouse to steal the money before making bank deposits for the court.
“Shopa stated she would place a portion of the stolen money in the daily deposit envelope and Althouse would take the extra money prior to making the deposit,” Mitchell’s affidavit read.
Detectives interviewed Althouse on Dec. 30 about her alleged involvement in the scheme.
“Althouse initially denied any involvement in the theft of money but stated she would take money that was overpayments made by consumers paying traffic citations,” Mitchell wrote. “When asked to describe what she meant by overpayments, Althouse stated Shopa would give her money and tell her it was an overpayment and to get lunch or something with it. Althouse later admitted that she knew the money she was getting was from cash payments made by consumers who were paying citations.”
Althouse allegedly maintained she would not take a large amount of money at one time and it may have been “a few hundred dollars a year,” according to court documents.
“Althouse confirmed that Shopa would put the money in the envelope for her,” Mitchell alleged. “Althouse confirmed she would receive her portion of the money being stolen through the bank deposits.”
Court papers indicate Quinn told investigators “he was unaware that Shopa instituted a policy that all cash payments should be directed to her and she would handle the paperwork.”
“Judge Quinn advised the only time he handles cash from constituents is during hearing days which he turns the cash over to the court staff. He further related that he does not handle cash payments made at the window on non-hearing days,” Mitchell wrote in court papers.
When Quinn reviewed records about one of the transactions handled by Shopa, he confirmed that the party signed in the guilty section of the citation and appeared to pay $674 which should have been logged into the computer showing the payment.
Quinn also was shown docket information showing the citations were withdrawn which he confirmed for detectives should not be listed that way in the computer and he confirmed no money was assessed to the traffic citations, according to court documents.
Originally Published: February 13, 2025 at 6:45 AM EST