The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Erin Hossler, 50, of Pottsville, the former treasurer for Cressona Borough, Schuylkill County, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on three counts of tax evasion.

The charges were for 2015, 2016 and 2017, and 12 counts of failure to account for and pay over employment tax.

According to U.S. Attorney David Freed, the indictment says Hossler took hundreds of thousands of dollars between 2015 and 2018 from Cressona, where she used to work as the secretary/treasurer.

Officials said Hossler had numerous checks issued to herself, forged signatures on checks, and used online banking from the borough’s bank accounts to pay her personal bills.

The indictment further alleges that she concealed her activities by altering federal records, withholding payment of federal employment taxes for borough employees, and altering an audit from an independent accounting firm to make it appear that the firm approved of the borough’s finances.

The case was investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police and the IRS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Consiglio is prosecuting the case.

If found guilty, a judge will impose a sentence under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law for each of these offenses is five years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.

The judge is also required to consider a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public, and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs.

For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.