The leader of a church group reportedly secretly stole over $100,000 from the organization, spending much of it on lottery tickets, Pennsylvania officials said.

The coffers of the Youghiogheny Western Baptist Association, a consortium of 27 churches, were entirely emptied over the course of several years by the chairperson, according to a May 4 news conference by the Fayette County District Attorney.

The chairperson, a woman from Uniontown, leveraged her role to gain complete control of the organization’s finances, officials said.

Over a roughly three-year period beginning in 2018, she stole around $112,000 from the church group, often forging documents to do so, officials said.

An attorney for the woman could not immediately be reached for comment by McClatchy News.

“The members of the organization became suspicious when they discovered that invoices and bills were not being paid,” District Attorney Rich Bower said at the press conference.

The church voted to expel the chairperson in December 2022 and brought her alleged illicit behavior to the district attorney’s attention at that time.

Through an investigation, it was determined that the chairperson had used much of the stolen funds to gamble, officials said.

It was revealed that she spent around $144,000 at one casino over a three-year period, though it’s not clear how much of the money spent there was stolen, officials said.

She also reportedly spent thousands on lottery tickets, often spending upwards of $1,000 per day on them, officials said.

She has been charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition and theft by deception, both felonies, in addition to other charges, officials said.

The chairperson was previously accused of stealing more than $100,000 from taxpayers while serving as treasurer of Uniontown, according to a December 2022 news release from the state attorney general’s office.

Infant drowns after being left alone in tub with running water, Texas police say

15-year-old killed when gun accidentally fires during turkey hunt, NC officials say

‘Kind and caring’ elementary school worker killed in road rage incident, CA cops say