Nearly $100,000 was allegedly stolen by a volunteer from Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern Inc. Railroad in Albany Township.
WK&S volunteer James Krause, Schnecksville, has been charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition, receiving stolen property and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, according to the Police Criminal Complaint filed at the office of Judge Kim Bagenstose in Hamburg.
WK&S, a non-profit corporation that provides scenic train rides to the public, is formed from shareholders who appoint a president, vice president and treasurer to run operations and maintain finances. In January 2013, Krause was appointed as treasurer and had access to checking and savings accounts as well as credit card accounts for Lowes and Home Depot, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
At the time of his appointment, the total checking and savings account balance was $101,956. In December 2013, the balance was $15,081.66. An internal investigation by shareholders showed missing funds of $31,498.81 from checking and $4,972.60 from savings, revealed that fraudulent purchases of $6,925.61 and $15,304.22 were made on the Home Depot and Lowes credit cards, respectively, and $36,837 of cash received from ticket sales was missing, all occurred between January 2013 and December 2013, according to the affidavit.
The total amount taken during that year from WK&S was $95,538.24, according to the affidavit.
Krause was arraigned on April 8. He waived his preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for April 14. He was released on unsecured bail of $10,000, according to officials at Judge Kim Bagenstose’s office in Hamburg.
