Warrant Issued for Former Township Treasurer Charged with Theft, Forgery, Fraud

Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of a former township treasurer in Schuylkill County. She’s accused of misappropriating funds and forging signatures of township supervisors on government checks.

In their affidavit, police say Rhiannon Adams, 40, of Ravine, was formerly the treasurer at Tremont Township. They say between April 2023 and March 2024, Adams stole $22,572.63 from the township.

Police say Adams misused the township’s Bank of America credit card and also forged the signatures of township supervisors on Tremont Township checks written out to herself.

Township officials tell police that Adams was fired from her position for filing late paperwork. The issue came to light when Adams’ replacement, Margaret Davenport, took over and spotted the suspected fraud.

Police interviewed Davenport and Tremont Township Supervisors Chairman Herman Lengle and Vice Chairman Larry Bender at township headquarters back on March 27.

Davenport alleges that Adams used the Bank of America credit card held by the township to make personal purchases. The alleged unauthorized purchases were made to Straight Talk Wireless, Amazon, Park Lane Jewelry, PayPal, Walmart, Burger King, Securus Inmate Call, and to a jewelry store based in Japan.

Those suspected fraudulent credit card purchases total $1,603.13, police say in their affidavit.

Davenport also pointed to alleged forged Tremont Township checks made out to Adams. Supervisors Lengle and Bender identified the signatures on the checks as forgeries and police say that a comparison between the signatures on the checks and those collected from the supervisors shows a noticeable difference.

A total of 12 suspected forged checks were made out to Adams. They ranged in value between $200 and $2,435. In total, the dozen suspected forged checks cost the township $20,969.70.

Police say that contact with Adams has gone cold. She’s failed to appear for several scheduled interviews and is no longer accepting phone calls, the affidavit reads.

Adams faces felony charges of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, theft by failing to make required disposition of funds, and forgery.