Atty. Accused of Embezzling Reportedly Steals More, Buys Sex Toys

PHILADELPHIA—A Pennsylvania attorney who was fired from firm following allegations she embezzled money reportedly returned to the office to break in and steal money and credit cards she then used to purchase sex toys. It’s not clear what pleasure products she purchased, though she apparently had no intention of using them herself, since she ordered them delivered to her former workplace. Nichole Ashley Collins, a former associate of Shaffer & Engle, was fired in August after she was accused of stealing roughly $8,000 from an account designated for paying filing fees and court reporters. Then, investigators say, Collins reportedly broke into the law offices in December, taking several files, a purse and personal checks and credit cards, which she then used to purchase more than $300 in sex toys online. Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court pulled Collins’ law license indefinitely. A criminal complaint filed by state prosecutors also accused Collins of rendering a server and other computer equipment inoperable after dousing them with “an unknown sticky substance” and alleged that she used a credit card pilfered from a former co-worker to purchase three vibrators to be delivered to the Shafer & Engle office. In total, the complaint accuses Collins of stealing about $4,000 through fraudulently cashed checks and credit and debit card transactions. Collins faces charges that include burglary, forgery, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.