Times Observer file photo Brenda Gibson is escorted into the Main Courtroom at Warren County Courthouse prior to her sentencing in December 2022.

A longtime notary convicted for stealing nearly $1 million has been barred from working as a notary for at least four years.

Brenda L. Gibson, 60, Pittsfield, was sentenced to 53 to 159 months incarceration in state prison back in Dec. 2022.

Online court records show that she’s serving that sentence currently at SCI Cambridge Springs.

A notice was published in the Aug. 28 edition of the Times Observer announcing the suspension.

“On April 10, 2024, the Secretary of the Commonwealth accepted that Brenda Gibson… shall not be permitted

to apply for an appointment as a notary public for a period of at least four years….”

It further states that the suspension is tied to pleas to two counts of theft.

According to deputy attorney generals, Gibson stole about $920,000 over two years from numerous victims including her employers and her notary customers.

In addition to the prison term, Gibson was ordered to pay $325,000 in restitution to Deerfield Township, $134,231.47 to Dyke’s Garage, $420,736.23 to PennDOT, $17,865.50 to another victim, and smaller amounts to numerous others.

Gibson was convicted of stealing about $325,000 from the township, with its population of just over 300, since January 2020 and about $135,000 from Dyke’s Garage, where she handled business accounts and payroll, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, Gibson accepted payments at her notary business from 714 individuals between January 2020 and December 2021. From those payments – for sales tax, registrations, and titles – $339,718.07 should have been forwarded to PennDOT, but were not.