Havertown Woman Stole Cash Payments From Lower Merion Court: DA

HAVERTOWN, PA — An Havertown woman who was working at a Montgomery County court has been accused of stealing cash payments made to that same court, authorities said Wednesday.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said Lisa Anne Shopa, 58, of Havertown, is charged tampering with public records, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, theft by failing to make required deposits, unlawful use of computer and computer trespass, all felony charges, as well as several misdemeanor charges.

Patricia Althouse, 54, of Ardmore, was also charged with multiple felony crimes in connection with the alleged thefts.

On Sept. 16, 2024, Montgomery County Detectives met with Deputy Court Administrator for Special Courts John Savoth, who oversees the Montgomery County magisterial district court system. Savoth told detectives that an internal review of Magisterial District Court 38-1-07 in Lower Merion Township showed that Shopa, the court's office manager, was stealing cash submitted to the court to pay parking and traffic violation fines.

She was then marking some or all of the violations in the court computer system as “withdrawn” in order to cover her theft, and was depositing some or none of the collected fine monies into the court’s bank account.

Court staff reported to Savoth that Shopa had issued a directive to staff that all cash fines were to be issued a handwritten receipt—which is contrary to established district court procedures that require computer receipts to be issued. Additionally, only a judge or a member of law enforcement with a judge’s approval are allowed to withdraw charges in the court system.

The subsequent investigation was conducted by Montgomery County Detectives that included a review of Magisterial District Court 38-1-07 records regarding all parking and traffic-related offenses from Jan. 1, 2024 to Oct. 31, 2024, the court’s bank records and surveillance video of the court’s office area. This investigation was conducted with the full cooperation of the court.

The investigation ultimately found that Shopa and Althouse, the court’s traffic clerk, conspired to intentionally steal traffic and parking fines, totaling $7,499.49.

In the process, they defrauded local, county and state government entities by illegally altering the final disposition of numerous cases, marking them as withdrawn in the official court system. Some of the withdrawn citations involved certain violations of Title 75, which carried penalties that rise above a fine, including suspension by PennDOT of vehicle registration and driving privileges.

Steele also noted that Montgomery County court administrators are correcting the errors in the dockets and the court record caused by the defendants’ actions.

Court administration is also working to correct any false or absent reporting to other governmental agencies derived from these false records.

Shopa was taken into custody Dec. 23, 2024 and also released on $5,000 unsecured bail. All charges filed against her were waived to the Court of Common Pleas.

Althouse turned herself in to authorities on Wednesday after being charged Monday. She was released on $5,000 unsecured bail and is scheduled for a Feb. 27 preliminary hearing.