CF Woman Charged with Stealing from Charity

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — A 33-year-old woman has been accused of stealing nearly $6,700 while working for a charity in Cedar Falls.

Court records say Jamie Padden is charged with theft.  Padden's preliminary hearing is scheduled for next week.

Court records say the president of Cedar Valley Gearheads Ministries went to police in January to report that money was missing from the group's checking account. Investigators say Padden was working as the group's secretary when she wrote at least 10 unauthorized checks between October 2014 and this past January.

The records say Padden told investigators she wrote the checks to pay her bills because she was having financial problems.