A preliminary hearing has been continued for a Slippery Rock woman accused of stealing from the Karns City Gremlinette's booster club in 2018.

“She's claiming she didn't do anything improper, and she 100% denies stealing any money,” said attorney Joseph Nash on behalf of his client, Jennifer Phillips, 36, former treasurer of the club.

The preliminary hearing was scheduled for March 9 before District Judge Lewis Stoughton.

State police filed two felony charges of theft against Phillips Jan. 22, and police arrested her Jan. 30.

Phillips is free on an unsecured bond.

According to charging documents, state police were called May 14, 2019, by an officer of the club reporting that Phillips had mishandled $2,654, which had been missing since April 2018.

The club officer told police that Phillips “was acting strange when asked to provide the binder containing all the (treasury) documents, including bank statements,” the affidavit said.

The club officer said the bank statements were gathered from the bank, and an audit was performed that showed several checks had bounced from the accounts when the funds should have been available.

Nash said the auditor was a friend of the club officer.

“So, we're not sure how impartial that audit was,” he said.

Nash said Phillips claims one of the first checks that bounced happened before she took office, and in another instance, she raised the alarm that the check would bounce to the club's officers.

“She was told to write it anyway,” Nash said.

Exactly one year later on May 14, 2020, state police interviewed Phillips at the barracks.

“Phillips denied misusing any of the funds and advised that (the club officer) was the one who doctored the books to make her look bad and hide that she was the one stealing the funds,” said the investigating trooper in the affidavit.

Police said Phillips further claimed that money from the two fundraisers was kept by the club officer who accused her, and she was not able to deposit them into the accounts.

“Phillips advised the purple binder that would show she was innocent was handed over to (the club officer) back in February,” the affidavit said.