Tax Collector Ripped Off Township

⏱ 2 min read

Karen McGinnis, 46, of Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, is headed to federal prison after a brazen scheme to pilfer over $400,000 from the Fairview Township tax rolls. The former tax collector used her position to line her own pockets between March 2023 and January 2025, and today, U.S. District Judge Karoline Mehalchick handed down a 20-month sentence.

McGinnis was entrusted with collecting property taxes from residents of Fairview Township, funds earmarked for the township itself, Luzerne County, and the Crestwood School District. Instead, authorities say she treated the accounts like a personal ATM, writing checks to herself totaling over $400,000. The feds also noted the theft impacted federal funding streams, with both the county and school district receiving over $10,000 in federal grants during the period of the fraud.

While McGinnis coughed up roughly $40,000 before the scheme imploded, Judge Mehalchick wasn’t buying it. She ordered McGinnis to pay restitution of $367,088.35 to cover the full amount of the stolen funds. The sentence also includes three years of supervised release following her prison stint.

The IRS-Criminal Investigation unit led the complex financial investigation that untangled McGinnis’s scheme, demonstrating the agency’s ability to trace illicit funds. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle A. Moreno prosecuted the case.