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Home > Blogs > Dayton Courts: Legal and crime news > Archives > 2009 > May > 28 > Entry
Former Girl Scout leader ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution to scouts
DAYTON — A former Girl Scout leader convicted of stealing $28,000 in cookie money was ordered Thursday, May 28, to pay $20,000 in restitution.
Tamara Jo Ward will report to the Montgomery County Jail on June 8 to start the 30-day sentence handed down by Common Pleas Judge Connie Price on May 18.
Under a restitution agreement reached between assistant Montgomery County prosecutor Jon Marshall and defense attorney Kevin Lennen, Ward will pay $5,000 up front, then pay $250 a month during her five-year probation period that will follow her jail sentence.
“It allows everyone to move forward, especially the girls,” said Marcia Dowds, a staff representative with the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, who was present at the hearing Thursday. “We regret that the girls have had to go through with all of this.”
Ward, 45, of Union, pleaded guilty in April to a single count of grand theft of more than $5,000, a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison. The charge was the sole count in her indictment.
Detectives arrested Ward on July 21 when she came to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Harrison Twp. offices to be interviewed.
Ward started Troop 2162 in 2000 and was the leader until the troop was dissolved in 2007. During that time, she had access to the bank account the troop used to deposit cookie funds, according to the prosecutor’s office.
That money was to be used for the troop’s recreational activities, but Ward got a debit card, and during a five-year-period, spent the money on vacations, personal expenses, utility payments and groceries, according to the prosecutor’s office.
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By Dave
May 28, 2009 6:01 PM | Link to this
She stole $28,000 and has to pay back $20,000 of it. So she gets to keep the other $8,000 she stole?By Maple Fan
May 28, 2009 6:34 PM | Link to this
She should have to apologize publicly to the girls in her troop, and she should have to do a LOT of community service for the Girl Scouts on top of paying back the money. Disgusting.By McDuck
May 28, 2009 6:37 PM | Link to this
Shame, shame… $8000 profit for stealing from the youth. Ms. Ward, you need to stay away from others people money. I sure you parents are very proud of you. The apple dose not fall far from the tree.By Susan
May 28, 2009 6:42 PM | Link to this
She should pay back all the money, appologize and jail. Her own family will suffer from her stupid mistake.By Union
May 28, 2009 7:44 PM | Link to this
Northmont Say Soccer Assn. should relieve Ms. Ward of her duties before she starts stealing from them.By meh
May 28, 2009 9:27 PM | Link to this
she should be flogged and never hired again by anyone on earth…and have to pay back the $250 a month or go straight to prison and not be allowed any earnings from employers anywhere on earth.By S
May 28, 2009 9:44 PM | Link to this
I totally agree with Union if she is working with any type of $$. It would seem that since she is a convicted felon that there would be limitations on what types of jobs that she can qualify for. Working with money would definitely be a no no.By To Meh
May 28, 2009 9:54 PM | Link to this
Flogging, what century are you living in???By Facts
May 28, 2009 9:57 PM | Link to this
Or maybe she didn’t steal everything that she was accused of…What other reason would the prosecution settle for a less amount than was actually taken? NO other reason!!! Everyone is very quick to jump to conclusions, yet don’t know any of the facts.By W
May 28, 2009 10:17 PM | Link to this
I thought that I had read/seen that she had already paid the initial money that she stole, back. This could be money that the court feels that she owes for stealing the money in the first place.By Janice
May 28, 2009 11:27 PM | Link to this
She should have to go door to door selling cookies and on weekends stand outside her local WalMart and sell those cookies then until she has paid back the girl scout troop.By GS Leader
May 29, 2009 6:59 AM | Link to this
She stole $28,000, has to pay back $20,000, and all of this legal stuff does not even include money that went to her from other troops. Tammy Ward was not only a troop leader, she was the NORTHMONT SERVICE UNIT LEADER. All money from ALL OF THE NORTHMONT TROOPS had to go through Tammy! How much of that did we all pay to her, only to hear that the council never received it?! What about the troop that had all their cookie money stolen at gunpoint, and instead of the reimbursement ever going to the council, it went to Tammy? What about the troop that had money coming to them from a Juliette Low Scholarship fund, and instead of going to that troop it went to Tammy’s? There is a much bigger picture to this and she got off with waaaaay to little punishment. It’s still very unfair and some of the Girl Scouts will NEVER recover.By Northmont Grad
May 29, 2009 8:23 AM | Link to this
Does anyone know this woman’s maiden name?By Mad at Crime
May 29, 2009 9:28 AM | Link to this
Flogging, YES, flogging. If we were harder on criminals, the crime would be reduced. Acutally, I’m against the Electric Chair. I think they should buld an Electric Bench and zip five or more at a time!!!!!!!!By Girl Scout Leader
May 29, 2009 9:46 AM | Link to this
The sad thing is, this is happening to my daughter’s old troop. Our cookie money is gone also. Granted, it is only about 1200.00, but still our girls worked hard for this money and girl scout council is being very slow about getting the money back for our girls. It has been since last year. I doubt the woman will ever give the money back and not even get punished.By Bill
May 29, 2009 9:59 AM | Link to this
NYC and others: The Judge is a woman and both the judge and the prosecutor would not engage in inappropriate behavior like you suggest. Receipts were provided that showed she had already paid back the 8k, so 20K was the balance of what she owed. Restitution is only for economic loss, so you can’t order her to pay 3x the amount or punish her by ordering more restitution. Why don’t you read the Ohio Revised Code before making your uneducated comments?By Concerned Union
May 29, 2009 10:01 AM | Link to this
WHY is ANY Northmont community sport, club, or organization still backing this woman? She has been proven guily! NMONT SAY SOCCER WAKE UP & SMELL THE COFFE!!!THE POTS BURNING!By WTF
May 29, 2009 11:46 AM | Link to this
I agree with Union. Why is she still involved in any organiztions? Someone should be checking out the soccer club. I wouldn’t be giving money to a club that has someone like that there. Has the soccer club been investigated, if not maybe they should be.By nyc
May 29, 2009 3:04 PM | Link to this
hey bill..just because the judge is a woman…doesnt mean they arent sleeping together ..dumbass..and screw the orc..and anything other defense you have for her actionsBy Seriously?
May 29, 2009 4:27 PM | Link to this
You people are making such uneducated comments. Nmont SAY soccer is aware of everything that has happened and she is not associated with any money there. Can’t anyone think of her children? What it will do to them? I already heard how upset the daughter is. She’s in high schooland she is being made to pay for something she didn’t even do. This family has suffered enough for one person’s actions. And seriously? flogging? this woman is not the biggest theif out there! Since Tammy is a one time felon and is very close to her family, isn’t jail, community service and restitution enough?By Seriously?
May 29, 2009 4:27 PM | Link to this
You people are making such uneducated comments. Nmont SAY soccer is aware of everything that has happened and she is not associated with any money there. Can’t anyone think of her children? What it will do to them? I already heard how upset the daughter is. She’s in high schooland she is being made to pay for something she didn’t even do. This family has suffered enough for one person’s actions. And seriously? flogging? this woman is not the biggest theif out there! Since Tammy is a one time felon and is very close to her family, isn’t jail, community service and restitution enough?By Seriously?
May 29, 2009 4:28 PM | Link to this
You people are making such uneducated comments. Nmont SAY soccer is aware of everything that has happened and she is not associated with any money there. Can’t anyone think of her children? What it will do to them? I already heard how upset the daughter is. She’s in high schooland she is being made to pay for something she didn’t even do. This family has suffered enough for one person’s actions. And seriously? flogging? this woman is not the biggest theif out there! Since Tammy is a one time felon and is very close to her family, isn’t jail, community service and restitution enough?By Seriously?
May 29, 2009 4:28 PM | Link to this
You people are making such uneducated comments. Nmont SAY soccer is aware of everything that has happened and she is not associated with any money there. Can’t anyone think of her children? What it will do to them? I already heard how upset the daughter is. She’s in high schooland she is being made to pay for something she didn’t even do. This family has suffered enough for one person’s actions. And seriously? flogging? this woman is not the biggest theif out there! Since Tammy is a one time felon and is very close to her family, isn’t jail, community service and restitution enough?By Seriously?
May 29, 2009 4:28 PM | Link to this
You people are making such uneducated comments. Nmont SAY soccer is aware of everything that has happened and she is not associated with any money there. Can’t anyone think of her children? What it will do to them? I already heard how upset the daughter is. She’s in high schooland she is being made to pay for something she didn’t even do. This family has suffered enough for one person’s actions. And seriously? flogging? this woman is not the biggest theif out there! Since Tammy is a one time felon and is very close to her family, isn’t jail, community service and restitution enough?By Seriously?
May 29, 2009 4:28 PM | Link to this
You people are making such uneducated comments. Nmont SAY soccer is aware of everything that has happened and she is not associated with any money there. Can’t anyone think of her children? What it will do to them? I already heard how upset the daughter is. She’s in high schooland she is being made to pay for something she didn’t even do. This family has suffered enough for one person’s actions. And seriously? flogging? this woman is not the biggest theif out there! Since Tammy is a one time felon and is very close to her family, isn’t jail, community service and restitution enough?By P
May 30, 2009 6:14 PM | Link to this
A heartfelt apology to all of Tammy’s former scouts would be nice.By Mom
May 30, 2009 8:07 PM | Link to this
Seriously?? You better check your facts. Tammy is a Board member of SAY Soccer (Northmont), and has been involved with money. I don’t know where you are getting your story from, but, she can’t be trusted. As for her daughter, everyone is trying to be nice to her in high school. She is not being harassed from what I hear from high school kids. They feel really sorry for her. This is a rough situation, as my own daughter was involved in this troop, and was mistreated by Tammy. This troop has had so many members throughout the years, that it would make your head swim. Tammy was counting on driving a child out of a troop, when the mother began asking questions about the finances. When that happened………you could count on that child and parent feeling Tammy’s wrath, and being excluded from the troop. This worked many, many times, and many left the troop because of the discouragement of trying to fight something that they couldn’t win.By Just stop.
May 30, 2009 8:14 PM | Link to this
Since you are so quick to accuse, who were these supposed tortured girl scouts that were so wrongfully excluded? By the way, troop 2162 did many things in girl scuts such as organizing the dance, doing Easter egg hunts, and most of all, tons of community service. Who do you think you are, accusing Tammy of doing nothing in the community? She did more good for everyone than anyone else ever did.By Mom
May 30, 2009 8:48 PM | Link to this
I don’t know who you are, but, I did not say that Tammy did nothing in the community. This sounds almost like Tammy speaking, or someone who does her PR. Troop #2162 did not organize any dances, Easter Egg hunts, but did some community service…….not tons. The dance troop was a different organization from the Girl Scouts. If you want information, you need to check with the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office for any public records information.By one of the many
May 30, 2009 9:09 PM | Link to this
No one ever said Tammy did nothing for the community. What is the truth is that the girls who worked so hard received very little in return for their efforts, besides broken promises. Sure, we did a lot of activities, but they were paid for out of the parents’ pockets, not the troop funds. We did community service projects, and most of the time the parents donated items if there were actual items needed for those. And there are mistreated girls and parents, unfortunately my daughter and I are part of that group. So don’t make judgements without knowing the facts. I’m extememly disappointed that now that we as a community have a chance to heal, and have some good come from all of this, everyone is bickering and making ridiculous comments about the whole thing. I do feel sorry for Tammy’s daughter, however, Tammy and Tammy alone is to blame for that. She needs to be moved to a new school where no one knows her and she can make a fresh start. Keeping her at Northmont is cruel. Don’t lose sight of the fact that Tammy DID STEAL THE MONEY!! And please keep your inappropriate comments about who is sleeping with whom and your inappropriate language out of this blog. Do you know how many of our daughters are reading this? Shame on you!By Huh?
May 30, 2009 9:29 PM | Link to this
I would just like to know what broken promises there were because everyone keeps using that as an excuse but no one ever explains.By one of the many
May 30, 2009 9:41 PM | Link to this
She promised the girls a “big trip” to Chicago, Florida, wherever…It was basically just a ploy to entice the girls into selling more cookies in the snow and freezing temperatures. She wanted the girls to sell over a thousand boxes each. With 12-18 girls inthe troop, that’s a nice little profit, now isn’t it?By Huh?
May 30, 2009 9:58 PM | Link to this
I thought she booked the trip to Florida but all the parents wanted to go too? The ones that didn’t want to go, wanted to go to horse camp instead, right? Then the parents got angry because they couldn’t get exactly what they wanted, so then the pressed charges? That doesn’t make sense.By Mom
May 30, 2009 10:16 PM | Link to this
Where are you getting that information?? That is completely untrue. Tammy did not book any trip to Florida, she only spoke about it to get the girls to sell over 1,000 boxes each of cookies. Then when the subject of the trip came up, she always had an excuse as to why the troop couldn’t go on the trip. What you are speaking about is one of her many excuses. The parents became angry because she broke another promise for a huge trip, when the girls were expecting it. I would really like to know where all this misinformation came from. If you look above at some of the parents who have logged into this blog…….we are telling the truth.By Signing Out
June 1, 2009 11:36 AM | Link to this
Thank you Mrs. Mills and Mrs. Lam for your responses. I hope you spent your $540 that Tammy gave you when the troop disbanded well. Now you can take a big trip anywhere you want.By wow.
June 1, 2009 5:18 PM | Link to this
Hey “Signing Out”: You really need to check your facts before trying to make these moms look like the bad guys. NO MOM ever saw that kind of money when the troop disbanded. You’ve definitely been given false information once again. All of this is just sick.By one of the many
June 1, 2009 5:37 PM | Link to this
Dear Melissa, I am so sorry that you are involved in this mess in the first place, and that you continue to receive erroneous information. The statement that I received $540 from Tammy is completely untrue. Back in 2005 when I left the troop I received a small money order from the troop(less than $50 as I recall) that was owed to me as repayment for activities I originally personally paid for but which never took place. Melissa, if this is really you posting to this site again I am sorry that this terrible thing has happened to you, none of it is your fault and you don’t deserve any of it. However, if this is Tammy posting on the web as a way of making contact and harrassing us, she has been ordered by the court to have no contact and this activity is completely traceable, and she will be found in direct violation, with further penalties. The court has dealt with this matter and will continue to deal with it if it is determined that harrassment is taking place. Melissa, you are a bright and wonderful girl and I wish you only the best. Please take comfort in knowing that none of this is your fault. You are in my prayers.