Laurel Valley seniors director accused of theft, receiving stolen property

A St. Clair woman is accused of stealing $4,000 from the Laurel Valley Senior Citizens Corp. while she worked as the director, according to court papers.

State police arrested Rocky Jo Yeager, 53, Wednesday on charges of theft and receiving stolen property.

Troopers reported in arrest papers that Yeager wrote checks to herself from the nonprofit’s bank account and claimed they were to reimburse her for purchases she never made. Yeager worked as the director from 2019 until 2022 when she was fired after the board of directors noticed discrepancies, police said.

The money was intended for the purchase of two infrared body temperature thermal scanner kiosks and two cordless sanitizing sprayers. The items were never received by the centers operated by the nonprofit in New Alexandria, New Florence and Ligonier, according to court papers.

There also were unauthorized purchases on a corporate credit card Yeager used to buy items for the centers. The balance on the card was paid off the day she was fired, according to court papers.

Defense attorney Mike Ferguson said he’s still looking into the accusations.

“Rocky Jo … has never been in trouble in her life and has been cooperative throughout the course of the investigation and we’re hoping for an amicable resolution,” he said.

Yeager is free on $3,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is set for March 15.

It’s not the first time a director of the Laurel Valley Senior Citizens Corp. has been charged with stealing money from the organization. A former director was arrested in 2011 with taking more than $26,000.