Westmoreland County swim club president accused of stealing thousands of dollars from organization

DERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A local swim club president is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the organization.

According to the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office, Josie Ruffner, the now former president of Derry Aqua Club, siphoned $24,000 from the club bank account.

Ruffner allegedly admitted to using a club debit card to fund sports gambling on FanDuel and at Rivers Casino.

“Very shocking and surprising. I’m just glad they caught it and got it under control,” aqua club parent April Nolan told Channel 11. “They could do a lot with that [money.] That’s a lot of money.”

The club is not affiliated with the Derry School District but uses the school swimming pool.

Channel 11 did reach out to the Derry Aqua Club board. We were sent a statement saying:

“While we are deeply hurt by the actions of the accused individual, we plan to move forward and continue offering a fantastic program for our swimmers. Despite taking every precaution, we were unable to prevent the actions of the accused because it occurred in a short window of time. As soon as the board became aware, they immediately notified the authorities who opened an investigation on the same day.”

Ruffner did not post her $25,000 bail and is in the Westmoreland County Prison.

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