Ex-treasurer pleads guilty to stealing more than $400,000 from Reading teachers union
The former longtime treasurer of the union representing Reading School District teachers has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $400,000 from the organization.
Lisa A. Herbinko, 50, of Amity Township was charged with stealing the money from the Reading Education Association.
She entered an open plea Tuesday before Berks County Judge Thomas G. Parisi, pleading guilty to charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and tampering with public records.
An open plea means she admitted to the crimes but does not have an agreement with prosecutors on a sentence, which will be decided by the judge.
Her sentencing was tentatively scheduled for August.
Herbinko of the 100 block of Guldin Road was a teacher in the Reading School District. She resigned as treasurer of the association in early September 2022 after being confronted by the organization’s president about unauthorized withdrawals from union accounts, county detectives said.
According to detectives:
It was discovered she had been making regular withdrawals from union bank accounts and depositing the money into her personal bank account or under the name of a close relative.
The amount taken from First National Bank accounts totaled $368,620. Herbinko also was accused of taking $40,000 from the Reading Berks School Employees Credit Union.
The union president was made aware of suspicious transactions in early September and confronted Herbinko, who admitted embezzling funds and offered to repay what she had taken.
Association officials ordered an audit before contacting county detectives in late September. The total amount she took was determined to be $408,620.
Herbinko, who was solely responsible for filing tax forms for the union, was accused of making false reports. The audit found unpaid taxes dating to 2016 – years for which she claimed to the board that she had paid the taxes.
Herbinko had not been making required payments to the Pennsylvania State Education Association or filling out the required form mandated by PSEA, the statewide organization to which the Reading union belongs..
As of January 2023 she had not repaid any of the money. It was unclear if that has changed since then.
The Reading Education Association referred questions to the PSEA. Assistant Director of Communications Chris Lilienthal provided this statement:
“PSEA and the Reading Education Association have monitored this case very closely. We have fully cooperated with authorities and appreciate the work of law enforcement in seeing the case resolved and justice served. We have no further comment at this time.”
The district attorney’s office said it would have no further comment before sentencing.
