Girl Scout leader accused of stealing $12,500 in cookie money

A Girl Scout troop leader in Ohio is accused of stealing about $12,500 in money from cookie sales and event frees.

PATASKALA, Ohio (WJW) -- A Girl Scout troop leader in Ohio is accused of stealing about $12,500 in money from cookie sales and event fees.

Jill Gauthier, 49, of Pataskala, was indicted on one count of theft in Licking County.

The Ohio Attorney General's Office said Gauthier deposited the cookie money into personal bank accounts for about five years. The attorney general's office and the Pataskala Police Department began investigating after parents alerted authorities.

"She was literally caught with her hand in the cookie jar — an adult-size jar that should carry an adult-size timeout in a place with locking doors and barred windows," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a news release on Tuesday. "How many boxes of Thin Mints will her troop need to sell to make up for her betrayal?"

Gauthier, who had sole access to the funds, is accused of using the money for personal purchases, according to the release.

Gauthier will be back in court on May 5.