Former Treasurer Sentenced After Stealing Money From Churchville Recreation Council

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — The treasurer for the Churchville Recreation Council has been sentenced after she admitted to stealing more than $100,000 from the council's funds.

A 2022 audit conducted by the council's board of directors showed "significant discrepancies" in their finances from 2020-2022. The treasurer, Holly Keith, had been in her position since 2014. The missing money was reported to the Harford County Sheriff's Office and an investigation was launched. Early in the investigation, Keith claimed she stole between $50,000 and $55,000. However, detectives determined that stole more than $106,000 starting in 2017, according to the Harford County State's Attorney's Office.

Keith entered a guilty plea that was accepted by the court in September 2023. As of April 2024, Keith had repaid $74,000 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison with all but six months suspended. After she's released, she will be on five years of probation at which time she'll being repaying the remaining $32,435 balance, perform 100 hours of community service work and undergo a mental health evaluation.

"Being placed in a position of trust and then violating that trust is a crime that we take very seriously in Harford County. Recreation councils exist to serve the children of our community and stealing anything from our children, let alone over 1,00,000 people, will not be tolerated. We are encouraged that by the end of the defendant's probationary period, these victims will be made whole," said State's Attorney Allison Healey.