Apple reported the card was used multiple times to purchase virtual chips for an online casino game, the affidavit read.
TYLER, Texas — Documents allege an East Texas woman who worked at an East Texas nonprofit gambled away over $96,000 of the organization’s money.
Dawn Michelle Pitcock, 53, was arrested Monday on a charge of property theft worth between $30,000 and $150,000. She was the accountant for the Hand Up Network in Tyler.
According to the arrest affidavit, Hand Up Network CEO Sam Smith received a fraud alert that a debit card for the nonprofit was used twice at a Lake Charles casino. Pitcock, who uses the card normally, said she used that card by mistake and paid the nonprofit back.
After that incident, Smith was suspicious and he found 283 transactions to Apple.com since March 2024 totaling $96,826.58. When confronted by Smith, Pitcock said she thought Smith was the one making the charges, which he thought was odd because he has his own debit card.
Bank documents showed the transactions to Apple.com happened from March 11, 2024 to Jan. 13, 2025. Smith said none of the charges were made by him and no employee should have used a company card for those kinds of transactions.
Apple reported the card was used multiple times to purchase virtual chips for an online casino game. Investigators used her Apple ID, phone number and her iPhone serial number to connect Pitcock to the purchases.
In an interview, Pitcock said she had online casino app on her phone for many years, but she said she got rid of it in November 2024. She claimed she had the Hand Up Network debit card on her Apple account so other employees could make purchases if they needed to. She tried to claim that someone else could’ve got into her account when she lost her phone around the office.
She maintained she didn’t know how the purchases occurred.
Pitcock bonded out of the Smith County Jail the same day she was arrested on a $10,000 bond.
In a statement, Smith said the Hand Up Network is deeply saddened by the breach of trust by one of its employees.
“We acted immediately to safeguard Hand Up Network’s accounts, our team, and the clients we serve, making sure no further harm could be done,” Smith said. “Hand Up Network is committed to pressing on with our mission to support our East Texas community, proud to have reached over 690,000 East Texans in the past six years, and committed to keeping that momentum going. We want to thank our staff, donors, and volunteers who continue to help us serve the people of East Texas!”