CARBONDALE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Investigators stated the former president of the Greater Carbondale YMCA’s board of trustees is charged after allegedly making $7,000 worth of personal transactions on a nonprofit’s credit card.
According to the Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office, 63-year-old William Farber Jr., of Fell Township, was questioned after a complaint was received in April 2024, regarding missing funds at the Greater Carbondale YMCA.
A member of the YMCA's board of trustees told investigators several transactions made on the organization’s Chase credit card that were not made for YMCA purposes, police reported.
The credit card was assigned to former Executive Director Jason Mackie, who was charged in May for allegedly embezzling almost $100,000 from the organization’s accounts.
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When questioned, Farber claimed he was given the card to use for a fencing project and must have mistakenly used it, and "promised to pay back the amount", as stated in the affidavit.
After further investigation, detectives said Farber used the card for transactions from August 2023 to January 2024, equaling an amount of $6,811.17
As stated in court documents, the list of transactions consists of the following;
$3,337.72 from Modern Gas Sales from five different purchases
$721 from US Hole in One
$293.99 from Tasca Ford
$212 from Stanley Steamer of PA
$1,890.80 from AARP United Health
$355.66 from StubHub Inc.
For the people that attend the YMCA, it's upsetting.
"I feel disappointed with the people that did that. That is disrespectful, and that is just a crime. I don't like that," Hector Ramos explained.
The CVO of the Greater Carbondale YMCA issued the following statement:
We are aware of the arrest of William Farber Jr. on charges of theft and related offenses. We remain deeply saddened by his alleged actions and are grateful to the Lackawanna County DA office for their diligent investigation into the matter. We are thankful that the issues we have had have been successfully dealt with. We look forward to a bright and meaningful future to continue being the vital resource our community deserves.
CVO Greater Carbondale YMCA Mark Wallis
Farber has been charged with receiving stolen property, theft by deception, access device fraud, and other related offenses.
