(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday recently announced that a co-defendant who was involved in a scheme to defraud a Pittsburgh-based charity called Tickets for Kids has been found guilty of felony charges. 

An Allegheny County Judge convicted 65-year-old Ramona Wilkes yesterday of felony charges of corrupt organizations, criminal conspiracy, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, deceptive business practices and criminal use of a communication.  

Wilkes was sentenced to five years of probation, with the first year on house arrest, and she was ordered to pay $57,346.65 in restitution to Tickets for Kids. 

Wilkes used her position as an employee with Pittsburgh Mercy, a non-profit organization, to obtain tickets from the Tickets for Kids charity. 

These tickets were intended to be given to children who are served by Pittsburgh Mercy, but Wilkes kept the tickets for herself and her co-conspirators to use personally or to resell for profit.

According to Attorney General Sunday: “Tickets for Kids exists to create opportunities for children who otherwise might never experience a concert, sporting event or other special outing. Instead of helping fulfill that mission, this defendant exploited it for personal gain. This verdict holds her accountable, and the restitution ordered will help the charity continue serving the children who need it most.”

This case was prosecuted by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Organized Crime Section.