Ex-Veterans Clerk Ordered to Pay Restitution, Complete Community Service
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city's former veterans services administrative assistant, Tina Samson, was ordered to pay $2,184.76 in restitution and complete 700 hours of community service.
Samson, 66, was charged with a single count of larceny over $1,200 by a single scheme for using gift cards donated to Veterans Services for personal use, the Berkshire Eagle originally reported on Oct. 13.
Her larceny case was continued without a finding on Friday, Oct. 19. Samson must pay the restitution and complete her community service by October 2028.
Samson was arraigned in July on larceny charges related to the theft of gift cards donated for local veterans. She pleaded not guilty.
City officials became suspicious when they learned that Samson had been stopped in Walmart for allegedly trying to shoplift about $200 worth of merchandise. According to the police report, Samson told store management she worked in Veterans Services and was taking items to support them. Walmart trespassed her from the property but did not press charges.
City officials noticed discrepancies in accounting for gift cards donated to or purchased for the Veterans Services Office and contacted Walmart Asset Protection about four e-gift cards totaling $575 mailed to Samson's city account last year.
The cards were loaded into Samson's personal Walmart account, according to the police, and used for clothing, groceries, and cash. In one instance, clothing ordered online was shipped to Samson's home address.
A police investigation was launched Jan. 13 into the Veterans Services Office, where Samson had worked for 12 years before retiring in December, and a search warrant was issued for the Walmart account connected to her personal email.
In investigating other donations, the detective found five gift cards purchased at Walmart totaling $804.82, including activation fees. These were purportedly for donations to Remedy Hall in Williamstown, the Carlson family, and the veterans' annual lunch.
Remedy Hall reported it did not receive a donation from the office in 2025. According to Veterans Services records, six individuals were supposed to receive $50 gift cards, but they received none.
The office's records showed the purchases of a $250 debit card and a $150 gift card for a North Adams resident on March 18, 2025; that person died on April 25, 2025. The gift card was used on March 29, and the balance was loaded onto Samson's online account on March 31, according to police. The card was used to purchase two items— a pair of men's pants and a ring—and deliver them to the home Samson shares with her husband.
