ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A suspended EBT coordinator at the Lehigh County Assistance Office is charged with stealing benefit cards and using or trading them for more than $20,000 in food benefits, District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan and State Inspector General Michelle A. Henry said Monday.
Sheila McDonald, 46, of Pittsburgh, was responsible for securing the Electronic Benefit Transfer cards created and mailed by the office, with access to recipients’ dates of birth and Social Security numbers, according to a joint news release. The release said 48 cards she activated were used more than 270 times for $20,558.61 in benefits, or about $428 a card.
The release said she exchanged benefits for drugs and cash or used them at area stores. She is charged with theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, access device fraud, two counts of criminal conspiracy and receiving stolen property. Court records show each count is a third-degree felony and list July 23, 2024, as the offense date.
A complaint was filed Oct. 2 before Magisterial District Judge Michael D’Amore, and the case awaits a preliminary hearing. No date is listed. The release said McDonald was taken into custody and has not been arraigned. Court records list the county public defender’s office as her attorney.
Investigators say the case began in November 2025, when the Lehigh County Assistance Office, part of the state Department of Human Services, told the inspector general’s office that a card mailed from the office never reached its recipient, yet four unauthorized transactions had been made on it.
The card was activated with a PIN entered by phone, and a balance inquiry was made, on Nov. 7, 2025, the release said. Investigators say McDonald opened its data and used the recipient’s date of birth and last four Social Security digits to activate it.
Surveillance video shows a person identified as McDonald withdrawing $20 and shopping at a convenience store and a grocery store with the card, according to the release. It said the cell phone number that activated the card was one McDonald used, and it was also used on other cards.
A man whose identity was not released told investigators that McDonald often gave him EBT cards, with their PINs, instead of cash to buy crack cocaine, the release said. He said he believed she got the cards at work.
The Department of Human Services suspended McDonald, removed her access to all systems and issued replacement cards to affected households, the release said. The department has not said whether those households got back the stolen benefits. The department also warned in October 2025 about SNAP thieves attaching skimming devices to store card readers.
Detective Robert V. Egan of the District Attorney’s Office and Alexandria E. Nauman of the inspector general’s office investigated. Chief Deputy District Attorney Ramma R. Mineo is prosecuting.
The release said a complaint is only an accusation and McDonald is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.