Who Stole the Cookie [Dough] From the Cookie Jar?

By Olivia Leigh in News on Oct 31, 2006 4:00PM

Last year, Chicagoist was taking a leisurely stroll through Northern Virginia, when we were accosted by every dieter’s worst nightmare: the dreaded Girl Scout. We soon found ourselves shelling out a good chunk of change for a few boxes of glorious Thin Mints, Samoas and Tagalongs.

Unfortunately, a few Girl Scout parents in Northwest Indiana seem to have realized how the popularity of the cookies can translate into a sweet amount of dough for themselves. ABC7 reports that the Drifting Dunes Girl Scout Council in Merrillville, Ind., says in 2004 they were $19,000 short in cookie sales proceeds, and last year they were $20,000 short. At $2.50 to $4 a box, that’s 5,000 to 8,000 boxes worth of money left to be paid.

Cookies are normally sold by Girl Scout troop members, who deliver the cookies and receive payment. After receiving the money, parents are to send all funds to the council. Although the council’s CEO, Marlene Cosby, says parents occasionally pay the council late, over the past few years, the problem has spiraled into thousands of dollars of missing money.

If the Girl Scouts had you thinking they were just sugar and spice and everything nice, think again. On Monday, the council showed that they’re tough cookies, filing small claims suits against ten parents in Lake and Porter counties. Prior to filing, the council went after more than 50 parents outside of court, some of whom owed money from 2004.

The delinquent with the highest debt owed more than $1,700. While we can’t help but think that parent is a terrible example to his or her child, at least the Girl Scout can rest assured knowing she has a rock-star career in sales awaiting her.