APOLLO, Pa. — A man used his 9-year-old daughter as a ploy to collect money for Girl Scout cookies he never ordered or delivered, police said.
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Thirty-three-year-old Cody Patrick Wylie was arraigned Tuesday on charges of theft and receiving stolen property. He lives in Westmoreland County, northeast of Pittsburgh.
He and his daughter took door-to-door cookie orders from as many as 100 people, police said, and eight people filed a criminal complaint.
Pat Bigenho, whose husband bought two boxes for $8, said she’s disappointed in Wylie.
“We trusted him,” she said. “To think that this kind of thing is going on in your neighborhood is not good.”
Wylie used the girl to make the scam appear legitimate, police said, and collected $124 in preorders. Police said he demanded cash upfront for the cookies, which isn’t customary. Police also said he was purporting to sell cookies long after Girl Scouts usually take orders.
Wylie has been jailed. A lawyer listed for Wylie in another court matter didn’t immediately return a message.