BROOKFIELD TOWNSHIP — The former treasurer of the Columbiana County Kennel Club is facing fourth-degree felony charges of theft and tampering with records after being accused of stealing more than $79,000 from the club.

The charges were filed Dec. 17 in Trumbull County Eastern District Court by the Brookfield Township Police Department against Betty Jo Patterson, 72, Masury, after a nearly two-month investigation.

The charges were filed there because that’s allegedly where the crime took place.

The club is a non-profit made up of dog owners and breeders and hosts dog shows, according to the group’s Facebook page.

According to a police report, a member of the club met with the Brookfield Township Police on Oct. 30 about the missing funds, reporting some discrepancies were discovered in October 2023 in the treasury report submitted by Patterson. The report allegedly said the club had $100,000, but a bank statement showed the group only had $9,000.

Patterson was removed from office after the discrepancy was found until they could figure out what happened, then copies of bank statements were requested from 2018 to 2023. The police report said the club members found that 91 checks were made out to cash and they confronted Patterson.

In a letter she wrote to the club, which was provided to the police along with bank statements, the treasury report and meeting minutes, she allegedly offered to pay $50 a month to help pay back the missing funds and also offered to write in her will that the rest could be taken out of her estate when she passed.

The police said the bank statements showed that the amount of checks written to cash totaled $79,450, with two of the checks cashed at a bank in Brookfield. The address on the checks also allegedly matched the defendant’s address in Masury.

According to the police report, the theft charge stems from the theft of money, with the amount making the charge a felony. The tampering charge stems from the treasury report she presented at the club’s meeting showing that no money was missing. That charge was also a felony due to the amount of money involved.

The online court records did not show a date for arraignment.