Former Pittsburgh-area cheerleading boosters treasurer charged with stealing nearly $19K
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The former treasurer of the Burrell Cheerleading Boosters is accused of stealing nearly $19,000.
Forty-year-old Ashley Freiberg is facing charges of theft and stolen property after Lower Burrell police were called in July to investigate missing money from the cheerleading boosters.
According to the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office, the booster board learned in February that their bank account closed after it was overdrawn by more than $2,500.
When the board confronted Freiberg, who was responsible for all the booster's financial transactions, the district attorney's office said she claimed there was an issue with the bank's checks so she'd been using her personal checks to cover expenses. Police said Freiberg refused to provide the board with banking information.
Investigators said they found documentation that showed several fraudulent transactions from the organization's account to FanDuel, Live! Casino, Rivers Casino, Betfair, Comcast and Verizon. There were also ATM withdrawals from April 2022 up until February 2024, the district attorney's office said.
Authorities said investigators discovered at least three payments on the online app Zelle to Freiberg from the booster's account. Overall, fraudulent transactions and money taken by Freiberg totaled more than $18,900, the district attorney's office said.