Lawyer: Payroll Boss Who Stole Nearly $407K Was 'Shopaholic'

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A defense attorney says a woman who pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $407,000 from a Pittsburgh company while working as its payroll clerk is a "shopaholic."

Attorney Phil DiLucente says he's seeing "more and more of it in embezzlement cases" even though it's not a disorder recognized by the American Psychiatric Association.

DiLucente said 45-year-old Raelise Ostrowski, of Etna, was driven by shopping when she stole the money from Wellington Power Corp. in Pittsburgh.

Ostrowski wrote 288 unauthorized checks to reimburse expenses in the name of former employees from 2008 to 2013. She maintained a list of former employees for that purpose and pocketed the money.

She must return for sentencing before a federal judge in Pittsburgh on Nov. 12.

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