Former treasurer sentenced to prison for stealing $408,620 from Reading teachers union

The former treasurer of the union that represents Reading School District teachers has been sentenced to prison for stealing more than $400,000 from the union.

Lisa A. Herbinko, 50, of Amity Township was sentenced Aug. 14 by Berks County Judge Thomas G. Parisi to six to 23 months in Berks County Prison, according to court records. She also received 10 years of probation following the prison sentence and was ordered to pay $408,620 in restitution.

Herbinko pleaded guilty in June to charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and tampering with public records.

Herbinko of the 100 block of Guldin Road was a teacher in the Reading School District and served as treasurer of the Reading Education Association. She resigned as treasurer in early September 2022 after being confronted by the organization’s president about unauthorized withdrawals from union accounts, according to county detectives.

According to detectives:

Herbinko had been making regular withdrawals from union bank accounts and depositing the money into her personal bank account or the bank account of a close relative.

A total of $368,620 was taken from accounts at First National Bank, and $40,000 was taken from the Reading Berks School Employees Credit Union.

The union president was made aware of the suspicious transactions in early September 2022 and confronted Herbinko, who admitted embezzling the funds and offered to repay what she had stolen.

Union officials conducted an audit of their accounts, determining a total of $408,620 was taken. The audit also found that Herbino had failed to filed certain union tax forms and as a result the union had unpaid taxes dating back to 2016.

Herbinko also had not been making required payments to the Pennsylvania State Education Association or filling out the required form mandated by PSEA, the statewide organization to which the Reading union belongs.

Union officials contacted county detectives to report the theft in late September 2022.

Source: Berkshire mont