Former Upper Darby Township employee accused of embezzling over $200,000

UPPER DARBY, Pa. (WTXF) - A former Upper Darby Township employee is accused of embezzling over $200,000 from township taxpayers.

According to authorities, 36-year-old Jessica Smith McCusker is facing multiple theft charges including 6 counts of the following: theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received.

Authorities say they started the investigation last year after a supervisor said they found cash receipts for residents' tax payments in her desk drawer.

The supervisor checked the office's computer records of tax payments and discovered that the amounts taken from those receipts had not been posted, according to officials. The supervisor then reported the incident to Upper Darby Township officials and McCusker was suspended.

After further investigation, officials say she had used the stolen money to pay for her rent, her children's tuition, and credit card debt since 2012. In a later interview with McCusker, investigators say she said her drug habit escalated from 2015 until her termination and she used the stolen money to buy drugs.

McCusker had been an employee of the Upper Darby tax office for 15 years.

Bail has been set at $250,000 unsecured with a home monitor.