Pennsylvania tax collector used her job to harass neighbors, send them bills they didn't need to pay, DA says

Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, tax collector Tina Koren is facing criminal charges for allegedly using her role to harass and mistreat her neighbors, officials said Wednesday.

Koren is accused of using her official capacity as tax collector to mislead a tax-collection company in the township about two of her neighbors, and subject them to unfair assessments and bills that they should not have received.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan's office announced the charges in a news release Wednesday.

Authorities began investigating Koren after her neighbors, Mary Ellen Griffin and Steven Griffin, filed a harassment complaint with Whitehall Township police in September 2025. The Griffins own and operate The Caring Place, an Allentown nonprofit that assists with food and shelter needs for people in crisis.

Prosecutors allege that "Koren, acting in her official capacity as the Whitehall Township tax collector, intentionally misled and/or lied to the business tax collection agency about the business activity of the Griffins in order to subject the Griffins to unfair assessment, mistreatment, infringement of personal and property rights, which did alarm and seriously annoy the Griffins and served no legitimate purpose and harassed the Griffins."

A few months before their complaint to police, the Griffins built a greenhouse on the back of their property to be used to grow fresh fruits and vegetables to be donated to those in need via their nonprofit. 

On June 12, 2025, Koren filed a complaint with the Whitehall Township Zoning Office stating a greenhouse was being constructed without a property building permit on her neighbors' property. The zoning office ordered an inspection and sent out an enforcement notice to the Griffin family.

Officials say the family completed the necessary building permit paperwork and paid a fee for the building permit for the greenhouse, but complaints from Koren continued.

Investigators say after the initial complaint, Koren, acting in her capacity as the Whitehall Township tax collector, sent several misleading emails to a company contracted by the township to administer and collect business taxes. Koren is accused of falsely claiming to the tax company that the Griffins were running a portion of the business from their home, which would be a violation of township tax law.

Holihan's office said the misinformation led to the Griffins receiving several tax bills and notices that had been authored by Koren.

At one point, Koren emailed the business tax collection agency a photo showing a van marked with The Caring Place logo in front of the Griffins' home with a woman at the rear of the vehicle. 

"This is one of the many pictures I have received from Whitehall residents who are legitimately paying for a business license," Koren wrote in the email.

According to the news release, the photo of the van was taken from inside Koren's home.

After the charges were announced, Mary Ellen Griffin said the greenhouse has been a great tool to teach kids how to grow food as well as provide much-needed nutrition to the community. Griffin said other neighbors support their efforts and even visit with the children.

When reached for comment, Koren identified herself over the phone at the tax collector's office and told CBS News Philadelphia her attorney would send out a statement on her behalf.

Koren now faces misdemeanor counts of official oppression and harassment.

"As in every criminal case, the fact that an arrest has occurred or a complaint has been filed are merely accusations; and the defendant, Tina Koren, is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty," Holihan's office said in a news release.