Associate Fired For Allegedly Stealing Money Returns To Firm To Allegedly Steal More Money To Buy Sex Toys

This case isn't as sexy as it sounds...

Nichole Collins

When you lose your job as an associate because you’ve been accused of embezzling thousands of dollars of the firm’s money and you’re told to stay off the firm’s property, what’s your next step? You allegedly go back, break in, steal a former colleague’s credit card, purchase more than $300 of sex toys, and get your license to practice suspended. Duh.

Nichole Ashley Collins, formerly of Pennsylvania firm Shaffer & Engle, was fired in August after she was accused of stealing about $8,000 from the firm’s cost account that was used to pay filing fees and court reporters. The firm reported the theft to police in September, and called the police again in early December after some files went missing — including a file having to do with Collins and her alleged criminal behavior at the firm. At the time, an “unknown sticky substance” was found on the firm’s computer equipment, rendering it unusable.

That same mysterious substance made an appearance again between December 23 and 27, and it was then that employees’ personal items and checks that were left at the office began to disappear. WPMT Fox43 has all of the sticky details:

[A]n office employee said that her bag, which contained personal credit cards, was stolen.

While investigating, police found that the law firms’ receptionist email account received an email on December 27 at 10:07 p.m. with a notification that a purchase for a $250 Seducer luxury rabbit vibrator and other sex toys were purchased with the stolen credit cards.

Collins was arrested earlier this week and charged with burglary, theft, forgery, receiving stolen property, access device fraud, and criminal mischief. Her license to practice was temporarily suspended yesterday by the state supreme court’s disciplinary board. She’s currently free on $25,000 bail, and her case will be handled by the state attorney general’s office because she’s married to the county prosecutor.

Best of luck to Nichole Collins in getting off. At least she’s got a great vibrator to help her through these criminal proceedings.

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Harrisburg woman facing charges after allegedly breaking into, vandalizing, and stealing from law firm [WMPT Fox43]
East Shore attorney accused of embezzlement, burglary has law license suspended [PennLive.com]
Sex Toys And An “Unknown Sticky Substance” [Legal Profession Blog]
Lawyer is accused of burglarizing law firm that fired her, using stolen credit card to buy sex toys [ABA Journal]


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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