SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — A mother and daughter are facing charges after spending unauthorized funds from a Shelby County nonprofit child advocacy organization over the past two years. 

According to court documents, members of The Arc of Shelby County connected a recent history of stolen funds to Chief Financial Officer Cindy Massey and her daughter Jennifer Massey. They then turned in their findings over to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation.

Court records state Cindy had been issued a business credit card, and later several replacement cards, only to be used for business purposes for The Arc. Instead, Cindy and her daughter used those cards to make numerous personal purchases between May 1, 2022, and August 15, 2023. 

The purchases include paying rent on a personal residence, car payments and repairs to their personal vehicle, veterinary services, internet purchases delivered to Pelham, at least one Florida vacation, cosmetic surgery procedures and inmate phone credits at the Shelby County Jail. 

It is estimated that The Arc at Shelby County lost $200,000 from these purchases. Cindy then used The Arc’s funds to pay off the credit card bills, court documents state.

The theft was discovered in August 2023. According to court records filed Thursday, Cindy was arrested on first-degree theft of property and held on a $30,000 bond. Jennifer faces the same charge but has not been taken into custody.