The money was meant for needy kids. Ex-director of Sumner food bank stole it, charges say
The former director of Sumner Community Food Bank allegedly stole thousands of dollars from the nonprofit in 2020 by forging checks and pocketing cash donations, according to criminal charges filed Friday.
Tiffany Rhyner, who has since been terminated as director of the food bank, was charged with first-degree theft and two counts of forgery in Pierce County Superior Court for allegedly stealing more than $7,700 in cash and checks between March 1 and Aug. 31, 2020.
She has been summoned to court for arraignment Dec. 6. Rhyner could not be reached for comment Monday. A defense attorney was not yet listed for her case.
The alleged thefts include nearly $4,800 in checks Rhyner said would be used to buy food for kids as part of the food bank’s backpack program. Instead, they were deposited into her bank account, according to court records.
When the Sumner food bank was REI’s charity of the month in March and August, Rhyner allegedly pocketed cash donations amounting to more than $2,800. She also is accused of using a business credit card for an $88.39 dinner at the Peking Garden Chinese restaurant in Sumner.
The thefts came at a time when the food bank was stretched by the coronavirus pandemic. The number of households served monthly doubled from 625 before the pandemic to more than 1,200 by April 2021, a chairperson told the News Tribune that month.
Rhyner was named executive director in March 2019 following the retirement of Anita Miller. Before then, she worked in various leadership positions at the Salvation Army Food Bank in Puyallup, according to a Facebook post announcing her appointment.
The food bank terminated Rhyner in August 2020 for cause, chairperson John Rader told the News Tribune on Monday.
“We turned our information over to a detective in the Sumner Police Department to determine whether there was sufficient information to press charges,” Rader said.
Rhyner admitted to police she deposited two checks, each in the amount of about $2,500, to her own bank account, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause. Most of the money taken was used to pay rent and buy groceries, she told police. According to the probable cause statement, Rhyner said her husband lost his job, and she was concerned they would lose their home.
The former director denied taking money from REI donations, according to the probable cause statement. She said she gave the money to an administrative assistant. That person later told police he never received the funds from her.
Charging documents give this account:
In July, Rhyner convinced the food bank’s treasurer to sign a check for $2,500, telling her she needed to buy food at Costco for a backpack program as part of a partnership with the Bonney Lake food bank, according to the probable cause statement.
“When the check cleared their account it was later realized that the defendant had fraudulently placed her name as the payee,” prosecutors wrote in charging documents.
The Sumner food bank later learned Rhyner placed a $2,500 order at Costco but canceled the order shortly after making it. According to the probable cause statement, Rhyner forged a second signature required for the check, signing the name of a chairperson on the food bank’s board.
The backpack program aimed to provide food to hungry kids in Sumner and Bonney Lake school districts during the summer, according to a Facebook post announcing the partnership.
Rhyner allegedly used a similar method to steal funds later that month, this time asking a board chairperson to sign a $2,293.81 check for a Costco delivery and forging the treasurer’s signature.
Prosecutors also accused Rhyner of taking cash donations from REI meant for the food bank. REI donated $593 in March and $2,238.17 in August. REI provided documentation that showed Rhyner signed the receipt for the $593 donation. The treasurer said the food bank had no record of the donation being received.
A volunteer signed for the larger donation, and according to the probable cause statement, Rhyner told the volunteer to put the cash in her “top right drawer.” The treasurer said there was no record of this donation being received either.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story described a merger between the Sumner food bank and the Bonney Lake food bank that has since been called off. The two food banks are separate entities.
This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
