Woman pleads guilty to stealing from HIV services agency, Planned Parenthood

A Burr Ridge woman pleaded guilty Friday to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Planned Parenthood and an HIV services agency when she was employed at each.

Andrea Peoples, 43, was sentenced to four years in prison by Judge Michael Clancy after she pleaded guilty to felony counts of theft. But after receiving credit for nearly two years while on bond in the cases, Peoples will be released on parole, court records show.

Chicago police

Peoples was first charged in January 2020 after a routine audit by Planned Parenthood found that she stole more than $100,000 from the organization’s operating budget between July 2015 and April 2017.

By that time, Peoples was working as the chief financial officer at Chicago House and Social Service agency, which provides housing, health and employment services to people who are vulnerable to HIV.

After learning of the charges against Peoples, Chicago House reviewed its records and reported to police that Peoples had stolen from it, as well.

An investigation conducted by police and the FBI found more than $275,000 in checks had been deposited into Peoples’ personal accounts and that more than $74,000 in unauthorized ACH payments and credit card transactions were linked to Peoples’ personal accounts at various vendors, prosecutors said after Peoples was charged.

Using money from Chicago House bank accounts and the organization’s credit cards, Peoples made personal purchases at Macy’s, Ashley Furniture, Forever 21 and other businesses, prosecutors said.

Peoples’ “lavish shopping habits” also included purchases at high-end stores like Yves Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton, and she used Chicago House money to make a $12,000 down payment on an Audi vehicle, as well as pay her personal divorce attorney, prosecutors said.