Trio allegedly collecting door-to-door

ELIZABETH TOWNSHIP — The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident Friday of suspected fundraiser fraud.

A caller told deputies a woman and two girls were collecting money for a charity in the 12000 block of State Route 93.

Deputy Todd Easterling located the woman and two minors, a 12-year-old and a 9-year-old, who advised they were collecting money for the March of Dimes.

They told Easterling the 9-year-old’s mother was actually collecting money through Ashland Community and Technical College in Ashland, Ky., and they were helping her. According to a sheriff’s office report, when asked for a contact number, Easterling was advised the girl whose mother they were helping had left her paperwork at her home in Ashland. After a time, the woman told Easterling the girls had something to tell him.

The 12-year-old “ advised that they weren’t collecting money for the March of Dimes. (The 12-year-old) brought the money from the vehicle. The money was in a bank bag. Once back I counted the money. The total of the fraud was $41.86,” Easterling wrote in his report.

A check showed the woman had a suspended Kentucky driver’s license, fictitious registration and tags that expired in 2005. The vehicle was towed, according to the sheriff’s office report, and all three were taken to the sheriff’s office. The 9-year-old was released to the custody of her father.

Carol D. Stamper, 36, of 11028 County Road 4, Waterloo, and the 12-year-old were cited to court for petty theft and contributing to the unruliness of a minor.