Lisa Moore, the former Kennett Township manager who absconded with more than $3.2 million from the township’s financial accounts over a nearly eight-year period, was released from the State Correctional Institute (SCI) in Cambridge Springs, Pa. on Jan. 4.

Moore’s release followed a 27-month incarceration period that began soon after she was formally sentenced on Oct. 4, 2021 to a minimum of three years and maximum of ten years on five counts stemming from her embezzlement of $3,249,452 from the township that began in 2013 and ended in 2019.

According to data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC), Moore entered the state’s prison system on Dec. 2, 2021 at the State Correctional Institute at Muncy and was transferred to SCI Cambridge Springs on March 16, 2022. As part of her sentencing, she was given a Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive -- generally given to less serious offenders who have not committed a personal injury crime, a sex crime, a crime using a firearm and are not considered to be drug kingpins – and became eligible for parole at her minimum release date of Jan. 4.  

Located in Crawford County and south of Erie, SCI Cambridge Springs is a minimum-security correctional facility with housing for 1,018 females who are nearing their release from prison.

Moore, 50, was charged by the Hon. David F. Bortner of the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County with theft by deception, a felony in the first degree; dealing in unlawful proceeds, a felony in the first degree; forgery, a felony in the second degree; tampering with public records, a felony in the third degree; and access device fraud, a felony in the third degree.

A once-prominent figure in local politics and the Kennett community, Moore created her own personal parlor game of trickery with township funds that were intended to be used for employee benefits, the township’s police department, land preservation and several other township operations. From 2013 to 2019, she used the stolen money to pay for extravagant personal expenses. She traveled to Italy and France and Las Vegas, rang up substantial bills at clothing boutiques and gave money to family and friends.

Moore also had money paid directly to herself, but never recorded the disbursements in the township’s records. On other occasions, she would have the money paid to herself, but would record the payments as being made to known and normal vendors who did business with the township.

The amount of Moore’s thefts increased year by year, accumulated through unauthorized payroll payments; payments to her personal credit card; unauthorized payments to her retirement fund; personal use of the township's credit card; and other unauthorized disbursements.

Moore also continued to raise her salary as the township’s manager, increasing her annual pay from $130,000 to well over $200,000 by claiming that she worked over 3,000 hours per year. In 2017, for instance, she booked herself for working 3,612 hours—or an average of 10 hours a day for 365 consecutive days – which led to rewarding herself a salary of $295,000 for these fabricated work hours.

At one time, the township required two signatures for certain checks – one by Moore and the other by a township supervisor – but Moore side-stepped a second signature by using a stamp with the signature of one of the supervisors. When she needed checks paid to herself or her credit card accounts, she would write the check, sign it herself and then use the stamp signature of the supervisor.

Moore used a township credit card issued in her name to rack up unauthorized purchases that totaled nearly $700,000. She also engaged in acts of money laundering – transferring money from one township account to another – giving the appearance of normal transactions. She would then make another transfer, secretly moving the money from a second township account to one of her own accounts.

Moore even concocted a scheme that bilked the taxpayers an additional $50,000 a year, by pretending to be married to Brian Gore which, under township policy, extends full medical benefits to the spouse of a township employee.

She also manipulated the township's retirement savings plan to steal money from the township. Between 2014 and 2019, Moore was entitled to $33,000 in payments for retirement savings but directed over $945,000 to her E*Trade account. In 2018, she was entitled to a payment of $5,000 from the township to this savings account, but Moore awarded herself over $353,000 in payments, a manipulation of funds that cost township taxpayers over $347,000 in lost funds during 2018.

The intricate system that Moore had created began to unravel in April 2019, when the township police department received a report from the Capital One Fraud Department related to money transfers Moore had made. After an initial review, the investigation was turned over to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, who was assisted by Marcum, LLP, a forensic accounting firm hired by the township, in discovering the extent of Moore’s complex fraud schemes.

After an exhaustive eight-month investigation, Moore was arrested on Dec. 10, 2019.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].