Woman accused of stealing quarter of a million dollars from local nonprofit

INDIANA, Pa. — A woman is facing charges after police say she stole a quarter of a million dollars from a local nonprofit.

Indiana County District Attorney Robert F. Manzi Jr. said Carol Joann Polenik, 55, of Clymer, was charged with felony charges of theft by unlawful taking and access device fraud and a misdemeanor charge of tampering with records on Thursday.

She is accused of stealing $250,000 from Open Door of Indiana County, a nonprofit that provides intervention resources for people who are struggling with mental health issues, drug or alcohol addictions.

Polenik served as the chief fiscal officer at the Open Door from August 2023 to June 2025. She was fired for not providing expenditure reports to the board.

Police said Open Door determined she had been stealing from them within 24 hours of her last day on the job. They initially reported $130,000 spent at Giant Eagle from one of six credit cards belonging to the organization.

A criminal complaint said Pokenik shredded the credit cards and tried to purge her Open Door email account and bank statements.

The company’s IT department and bank records were able to recover the missing information.

Police reported that the money was spent on BetMGM, Venmo, Amazon, Comcast, CVS, First Energy, Giant Eagle, Lowes, Marting Grocery Store, Sheetz and Walmart.

Polenik is scheduled to appear in court in January.

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