A Delaware woman who once helped run a local food pantry was indicted Wednesday on felony charges after state officials accused her of taking at least $37,500 from the pantry and people who donated to it, including older Ohioans. Kathryn Whiting is 62 and lives in Delaware. Attorney General Andy Wilson said she faces theft from a person in a protected class, telecommunications fraud, and prohibited acts and practices for charities. The case is in Delaware County Common Pleas Court.

The charges are accusations. Whiting has not been convicted and is presumed innocent. Whiting was co director of the Eastside Mission Food Pantry, a ministry of Eastside Mission Church on Joy Avenue. The pantry opens twice a month for people on the east side of town.

A local report this summer named Linda Howell and Sherry Akers as the pantry leaders who accepted a bank donation. Officials have not said when Whiting stopped working there. The indictment covers alleged conduct from January 1, 2024, through September 14, 2026. That is more than two years.

Prosecutors have not said publicly how the money was taken. They also have not broken down how much came from pantry accounts and how much came from individual donors. They have not said how investigators first learned of the alleged theft. Wilson’s office said the money came from the organization and its donors, including elderly Ohioans.

No names or ages of those donors have been released. Ohio treats people 65 and older as a protected class in theft cases. That is why the protected class charge was filed. The law raises the seriousness of a theft when the victim is elderly.

Authorities have not said how many older donors they believe were involved. Telecommunications fraud is the charge used when someone is accused of using a phone, computer, or similar system to carry out a scheme to cheat someone. In a charity case that can mean electronic transfers or messages used to collect donations. The attorney general has not spelled out which communications are at issue here.

The charity charge comes from Ohio’s fundraising law. It covers deceptive practices in asking for donations, including misleading people about where the money will go. Delaware police, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the Charitable Law Section of the attorney general’s office investigated. The county prosecutor asked the Charitable Law Section to handle the prosecution.

The pantry and the church did not issue a public statement in the announcement. As of Thursday night, public records did not show an arraignment date, a bond amount, a listed attorney, or a plea. It was not clear from available records whether Whiting had been arrested or had appeared in court. The state used the phrase “at least $37,500,” so investigators could still identify more money or more people as the case moves forward.

Searches of public records did not turn up a confirmed prior criminal case involving this Kathryn Whiting that could be independently verified for this report. If she is convicted, the possible prison terms depend on how the court grades each count. Theft from a person in a protected class of $37,500 or more, but less than $150,000, is a second degree felony. That carries two to eight years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

Ohio also requires full restitution to elderly victims and allows an extra fine of up to $50,000 that goes toward elder abuse work. Telecommunications fraud involving $7,500 to under $150,000 is often a third degree felony, with a range of nine months to five years. A charity law violation at $37,500 or more can also be a second degree felony. Those figures are the ranges in the statute.

They are not a forecast of any sentence. People who suspect a charity is misusing money can file a complaint with the attorney general’s Charitable Law Section.