MOORESVILLE, N.C. — A woman is accused of taking donations and Christmas gifts from a nonprofit she worked at in Mooresville and returning them for store credit.
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Judith Crawford Artis was arrested and charged with embezzlement and three counts of obtaining property by false pretense.
The gifts were meant for homeless women and children at Hope for Mooresville, which has been in operation since 2017.
Artis was the director of the nonprofit for a few months but is no longer employed there.
"Taking something from people that really truly need it,” said Jill Bieber, who owns a nearby salon. “It's horrible."
Mooresville police started investigating the case last month after a staff member noticed Christmas gifts were missing. The town believes Artis returned the gifts for store credit worth between $900 and $1,200.
"The damage caused by this incident was minimal and did not affect the financial integrity of the facility,” said Mark Childers, chairman of the board of Hope for Mooresville. “We remain good stewards of your generosity."
Some believe the damage may have been done.
The alleged crime will “make it very hard in the future to ask people for money when they don’t know if it’s a trustworthy place,” Mooresville resident Olga Lingo said.
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