A former Gregg Township secretary/treasurer, who was placed on indefinite leave following allegations involving more than $500,000 in missing township funds, was arrested Wednesday and charged with four felonies.

Pamela Hackenburg, 55, of Union County, has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec. 11 before Judge Gregory M. Koehle. She was released on $500,000 unsecured bail.

She faces two first-degree felonies related to theft and two third-degree felonies consisting of access device fraud and identity theft. Specifics about Hackenburg’s case were not immediately available from court records, as the magistrate’s office was closed Friday, but some details have played out publicly during public meetings within Gregg Township, which is part of Penns Valley.

Over the summer, a tax auditor estimated that about $533,000 was unwittingly spent from the congregation’s accounts. At that time, the township then reported that its former secretary “appears to have been involved in a series of transactions which resulted in large sums of money being spent from Township accounts.”

Gregg Township has typically avoided using Hackenburg’s name out loud, but now that she has been formally arrested, Township Supervisor Ben Haupt confirmed to CDT on Friday that Hackenburg was charged with crimes related to the township. And the top story on the municipality’s website Friday was also titled “Pam Hackenburg Arrested This Morning – November 27, 2024.”

On the website, the township wrote that more details will come later.

“We just want justice,” said Haupt, one of the township’s supervisors. “That’s all.”

Hackenburg’s name has appeared in Gregg Township meeting minutes since at least January 2019, and it last appeared in May 2024. The township previously admitted it believed Hackenburg’s “activities” existed in 2021 — and possibly earlier — when she was placed on indefinite leave without pay.

In August, state police confirmed to CDT that they were already investigating the case. And on Wednesday, a state trooper arrested Hackenburg.

In public meetings since the summer, residents of the small municipality as well pressed supervisors for answers and asked elected officials for transparency through the process.

CDT reporter Bret Pallotto contributed to this story