NORRISTOWN — A Berks County woman admitted that she embezzled more than $375,000 while working as the bookkeeper for the Gwynedd Office Condominium Association in Upper Gwynedd Township.
Judith E. Butt, 74, of the 700 block of Hopewell Street, Union Township, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to felony charges of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received in connection with thefts that occurred between January 2016 and March 2023.
Butt, who is represented by defense lawyer Adam J. Sager, remains free on bail pending a sentencing hearing later this year before Judge Wendy G. Rothstein. As a condition of bail, Butt was ordered to “stay away” from the condominium association located at 311 Sumneytown Pike.
Assistant District Attorney Gwendolyn Kull is prosecuting the case.
According to court documents, the association, which consists of a group of tenants that occupy suites at the Sumneytown Pike location, “exists to pay various bills that maintain the building and surrounding property,” including sewer, power, elevator service, landscaping, cleaning and general maintenance. Each tenant is assessed an association fee based on a fixed percentage per unit, according to court papers.
With the charges, prosecutors accused Butt of stealing $375,928 from the association. Butt will be required to pay full restitution as part of any sentence she receives.
The investigation began in March 2023 when officials of the association contacted Upper Gwynedd police to report “an embezzlement situation” involving Butt, who had a contract since 2009 to provide bookkeeping services for the association, according to the criminal complaint filed by Upper Gwynedd Detective Jonathan Gill.
Butt was paid $4,200 a year to fulfill her duties. Butt used her personal computer and printer to maintain the association’s account. When she required supplies or equipment, Butt was to consult board members to have all purchases approved. As the bookkeeper Butt was required to write checks from the account to pay vendors and service providers, detectives explained.
“Judith Butt was the sole person that had access to these checks and was the only person responsible for paying bills, mailing the checks and maintaining this account,” Gill wrote in the arrest affidavit.
Association board members became aware of the embezzlement scheme when the Upper Gwynedd Township Sewer Authority contacted them, and was about to terminate service, after a bill for $22,449 remained unpaid, according to the criminal complaint. The last sewer bill payment had been made in March 2020.
Association board members subsequently reviewed financial statements going back to 2016.
“During a cursory look into these, they located numerous unauthorized payments on the account. Several of these payments included checks written directly to Diamond Appaloosa Ranch which Butt is known to be partial owner,” Gill alleged.
In court papers, detectives alleged the condominium association had no ties to the horse boarding ranch located along Sassamansville Road near Gilbertsville and there was no reason “any transactions should be connected between the two.”
When Butt initially was confronted by association officials who requested records and access to a Quickbooks account, Butt allegedly avoided providing the information.
“She claimed that her computer was no longer working and each time they requested information or account access, excuses were made by Butt,” Gill alleged.
In January 2023, Butt wrote a check to the association for $7,918 that she claimed was compensation for her mistakenly writing payments out of the association account instead of her personal account, detectives said.
The investigation revealed that between 2016 and 2023 “Butt had been overpaying for cleaning services, making unauthorized payments and paying herself far beyond what she was supposed to have been,” according to the arrest affidavit. For example, during that period of time, Butt paid herself $229,525 for her accounting services when it should have totaled only $28,000, detectives said.
“Butt had changed approximately 60 checks over the course of several years to appear to be legitimate payments from the association when they were to herself, Diamond Appaloosa Ranch or other unauthorized payees,” Gill alleged.
Authorities also uncovered unauthorized payments to Lowes, Verizon, Best Buy, American Express and Home Depot.
Detectives concluded Butt utilized her control over the condominium association’s account to wrongfully disperse $375,928 to benefit herself and others connected to her without permission or consent from the board.
“She tried to conceal and prolong this activity by creating fake bank records, fake envelopes and even fake United States Postage to cover her activity,” Gill alleged.
