Former Congressional Staffer Pleads Guilty to Theft

A former congressional staffer has admitted to stealing over $20,000 from an Ohio representative’s bank account to help pay her credit card bills, according to authorities.

Courtney Hruska, 40, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday to charges of wire fraud for using financial information belonging to her previous employer to settle her personal expenses. This information comes from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

While the victim’s identity hasn’t been disclosed, records indicate Hruska formerly worked for Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio). She was employed by Kaptur from August 2015 until January 2022 and was granted access to the lawmaker’s personal credit card and banking data during her tenure.

After leaving her position to join the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Hruska allegedly exploited the representative’s financial information for wire transfers to cover her own credit card balances without permission, as stated in court documents. Over a span of time from Aug. 19, 2023, to July 30, 2024, she allegedly completed ten transfers totaling $22,865.07.

During the fraudulent activity, Hruska reportedly recognized that Kaptur was “not tech-savvy” and lacked electronic banking skills, which limited immediate alerts from the bank regarding suspicious activity. According to prosecutors, because the fraud went undetected for more than a year, the representatives were only able to recover less than 9 percent of the stolen funds.

As of now, representatives for Rep. Kaptur haven’t commented on the situation.

Hruska is set to be sentenced on June 23, facing potential prison time of up to 20 years.