Mifflinburg woman pleads no contest in $50,096 American Legion theft case

A Millmont woman accused of draining money from Mifflinburg American Legion Post 410 has now entered a no-contest plea, deepening a case that has rattled one of the borough’s best-known veterans organizations.

Pamela Hackenburg, 56, pleaded no contest on April 28 to a felony theft charge and a misdemeanor count of tampering with records in connection with the post at 320 Chestnut St. in Mifflinburg. Investigators said she served as the post’s volunteer treasurer and bookkeeper beginning in September 2023 and allegedly took $50,096 in 42 separate transactions over an 11-month period between 2023 and 2024.

The repeated nature of the losses is what makes the case so troubling for a local institution that depends on member confidence, donations and volunteer leadership. At the post level, the American Legion is more than a meeting place. It is a financial and social hub for veterans, and Post 410’s loss is the kind of internal theft that can drain operating money from a small civic group long before the full damage is visible on paper.

Hackenburg’s plea comes as she is already serving a state prison sentence in a separate Gregg Township case in Centre County. In that matter, she was sentenced in September 2025 to two to four years in state prison, two years of probation and restitution of more than $615,000 after admitting she used township funds for sports betting, trips and personal expenses. Township residents told the court the theft left them stressed, betrayed and struggling financially.

Gregg Township fired Hackenburg in December 2024 after the allegations surfaced. That case also brought scrutiny to how a person entrusted with public and civic finances was able to move money for so long without being stopped. In the Legion case, the plea suggests the same pattern of access and misuse, this time inside a veterans post that has deep roots in Mifflinburg.

The timing adds another layer of discomfort for the community. American Legion Auxiliary Unit 410 marked its 100th anniversary in August 2024, a reminder that the post and its auxiliary have been woven into borough life for generations. Now, the organization faces the fallout from a case that began as a hidden accounting problem and has become a public breach of trust.