Former Employee Accused Of Stealing From Trumbull Counseling Center

TRUMBULL, CT — A former town employee accused of misappropriating over $14,000 from the Mary J. Sherlach Counseling Center in Trumbull was arrested Monday, according to police.

In a news release, Police Lt. Brian Weir said town officials became suspicious when they found revenues for the counseling center were lower than projected by thousands of dollars.

A subsequent audit conducted by an internal auditor through the Board of Finance found Laura Shiel, 42, of Trumbull, a former administrative assistant for the town, had misappropriated over $14,000 from the counseling center, according to Weir.

The loss was discovered after a significant amount of cash receipts dating back to 2020 that had not been deposited were discovered, Weir said. Trumbull police then launched an investigation based on the findings of the audit and identified Shiel as a suspect.

Shiel was hired as an administrative assistant in 2019 and was responsible for handling the revenue coming in to the center, as well as taking cash and check payments from clients. She was then required to make bank deposits of the center's revenue.

According to Weir, these funds were to be deposited based on town policy, however many deposits were never made. The counseling center is owned and operated by the town of Trumbull.

Shiel was charged with both first and second-degree larceny and is scheduled to appear in court later this month, according to Weir.