News

Actions

Police: $100K+ stolen from breast cancer charity

Posted

More than $100,000 has been stolen from a breast cancer charity and Dunnellon Police say a church volunteer has confessed.

Sharon Gane, 69, is charged with theft and forgery.

Police say they were contacted by the pastor at First United Methodist Church in Dunnellon on Friday after a check they wrote from an account bounced.

Further investigation revealed the account, which was for the Michele-O-Gram Charity, had a negative balance of $1,000, police say.

The account should have had between $100,000-$112,000.

The money was used to help women without insurance or those financially struggling obtain mammography testing

According to police, Gane oversaw the account for the church from September 2011 up until her arrest Monday.

"That's a lot of money," said Dunnellon Police Chief Mike McQuaig.

McQuaig told ABC Action News Gane confessed to transferring funds from the church's bank into her own personal account and forging checks on multiple occasions.

It is not clear when the thefts began or what the funds were used for, McQuaig said.

Gane was released on $7,000 bond.

Prior to volunteering with the church, police say Gane worked there for 20 years.

ABC Action News reached out to Gane for comment but did not immediately hear back.