2 Montgomery Co. Court Employees Stole $7,000 In Traffic Fines: DA

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Two Montgomery County district court employees stole cash payments that were made to the court and then covered up their crimes by changing court records, the district attorney's office announced this week.

Lisa Anne Shopa, 58, of Havertown, and Patricia Althouse, 54, of Ardmore, have been charged with theft, tampering with public records, and multiple other related felonies.

The pair worked for Magisterial District Court 38-1-07, which is based in Lower Merion. Thefts occurred through most of 2024, from Jan. 1 to about Oct. 31, officials said.

Shopa, was the court's office manager, and worked closely with Althouse, the court traffic clerk, the DA said. The money they stole — about $7,499.49 altogether — was specifically for parking and traffic fines.

Shopa would then mark the relevant violations as "withdrawn," so that the individual in the case did not show as owing any money, police said.

Only a judge or a police officer who has a judge's approval can legally mark violations as withdrawn.

DA Kevin Steele called the thefts "egregious" and said they undermined the justice system.

"By altering the court record and stealing these fine monies, the defendants were also depriving governmental agencies of much-needed funds," he added.

The pair have been under investigation since Sept. 16, 2024, when the court noticed missing funds.

The county said the court system is in the process of correcting the errors in the dockets made by the tampering.

Shopa was arrested on Dec. 23, 2024 and released on $5,000 bail. During a Jan. 23 preliminary hearing, all charges were waived on to the Court of Common Pleas.

Althouse turned herself in on Feb. 12 and she was also released on $5,000 bail. A preliminary hearing for her is set for Feb. 27.