Texas Woman Arrested, Accused Of Stealing Donations Meant For Angel Tree Children
WACO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A Texas volunteer with the Angel Tree program has been charged with stealing donations that were meant as Christmas presents for children and returning them for store credit.
Charabe Melody Allison of Lorena (about 13 miles south of Waco) was arrested Tuesday on a misdemeanor charge of theft of more than $100 from a nonprofit. She was later released on a $2,000 bond.
Waco police say Allison, also known as Charabe Lampert, was a volunteer with the Angel Tree program, which helps children with parents who are in prison. Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton says there's no evidence of other volunteers involved.
An arrest affidavit says Allison allegedly gave the donations to relatives or exchanged items for store credit or gift cards. The Waco Tribune-Herald reports some returned items were recognized as donations from an employee at a Justice store.
The newspaper reported that the employee had bought the items with her employee discount to donate and that managers "red-flagged" the return due to policy.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
