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Former Pittsburgh Sports And Exhibition Authority Controller Fired For Stealing Funds

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Pittsburgh Sports and Exhibition Authority has terminated the employment of their now former Controller Sharon Mink for an unauthorized wire transfer.

RELATED: Plum Woman Accused Of Misappropriating $319,000 For Personal Benefit From Insurance Broker

In July, the authority learned from a press release from the Allegheny County District Attorney's Officer that Mink had been charged with stealing $319,819 from her prior employer.

43-year-old Sharon Mink was already on unpaid leave from her job as controller at the Sports and Exhibition Authority where she was in charge of banking and cash management according to her online job description.

An auditor began conducting an internal review of SEA finances last month. The probe revealed an authorized wire transfer made by Mink for more than $21,000. No other suspect transactions were found and the SEA says Mink's employment has officially been terminated.

The SEA said in a release they will "aggressively pursue, by all legal means, recoupment of the monies."

Since the discovery of the wire transfer, the SEA has implemented a new accounting software that requires approval for transfers via a secure electronic system instead of a hand-written note. The new system also requires approvals to be made with the second set of approval through the bank's secure electronic systems.

Mink, who is from Plum, faces forgery and other charges stemming from her work at Research Underwriters.

Sharon Mink worked for the specialty insurance broker in Forest Hills as the controller from 2007 to 2017. She did payroll work and paid bills.

She allegedly used the money to pay for things like airline tickets, cruises, hotels and made purchases from Louis Vuitton and Gucci.

Mink resigned from Research Underwriters in February 2017 after reportedly walking out one day for a smoke break. Mink was hired the same month as a controller for the Sports and Exhibition Authority.

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