The Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia in Columbia County have been rocked by a disturbing case of theft by conversion, leaving the organization reeling and seeking justice.
According to a police report filed last week, the Girl Scouts’ local branch at 4687 Columbia Road in Martinez fell victim to financial malfeasance and missing funds from the sale of Girl Scout cookies. (See statement from organization at bottom.)
Shonda Wilson, the individual responsible for managing the organization’s account, revealed alarming details of the breach in an interview with authorities. Wilson disclosed that a woman had been entrusted with overseeing the account in 2023. However, suspicions arose in March of that year when irregularities surfaced, including unprocessed deposits and unaccounted funds.
Wilson alleged that payments for cookies, totaling a significant sum, were made to the suspect but never found their way into the organization’s coffers. The situation escalated over months, with Wilson continually confronting the woman about the discrepancies. Despite partial restitution in December 2023, Wilson asserts that the financial irregularities persist, with potential losses estimated at $5,000 or more.
No charges have been filed as the investigation continues, with Wilson promising to provide more financial documents soon to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, according to sheriff’s Maj. Steve Morris. The suspect allegedly claimed that she simply forgot to make the deposits and showed up at Girl Scout offices with a cashier’s check, which didn’t cover the entire amount of missing funds, Maj. Morris said.
The Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, renowned for its dedication to empowering young girls and fostering leadership skills, now finds itself grappling with the fallout of this financial scandal.
In response to this story, The Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia released this statement Tuesday:
“Several news stories were recently published alleging that money was stolen from Augusta-area Girl Scout troops. Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia staff is aware of the allegations and is working with local authorities to resolve the situation.
“While council staff were aware of the situation, they were not aware of the news articles until after they were published. Therefore, we would like to correct a major discrepancy in the stories. The articles allege that thousands of dollars in cookie proceeds are missing. However, internal investigations indicate that the account shortage is much lower than initially reported, and council staff is working diligently to help recover missing funds. While we cannot discuss further details of this matter because it is a legal one, we are committed to imparting the values of honesty and wise use of resources to all our girl and adult members, as indicated by the Girl Scout Promise and Law.
“Each year our local Girl Scout Cookie Program achieves its annual goal of teaching girls valuable business skills that they will use throughout their lives, including working as a team, money management, goal-setting, business ethics, customer service and marketing. We appreciate the continued support of the community who we have worked with to ensure the success of the Girl Scout Cookie Program. We know that success is directly tied to community members who appreciate the cookie program as the one that provides girls with their first economic and business literacy lessons.”
