OAN Staff Abril Elfi
3:48 PM – Saturday, October 19, 2024
The PTA president at an elementary school in Queens, New York has allegedly stolen at least $40,000 intended for kid’s programs and used it for vet bills, Amazon purchases and Uber Eats.
According to the New York Post, on September 27th, Athena Gonzales resigned following accusations by other PTA members that she was stealing, the interim president announced at a meeting on October 7th.
The PTA members were first told during an emergency meeting after the group’s secretary discovered the missing money amid fraudulent bank activity.
A copy of a $10,000 check made out to cash was placed on the table, but no one admitted to writing it, according to sources.
The PTA announced at its October meeting that another check had been allegedly written out to Gonzalez.
Sources stated that members worked together to follow the paper trail and allegedly discovered Gonzalez spent the majority of the money over the summer, charging it to the PTA credit card.
PTA members traced the charges back to Gonzalez’ vet, and said she also has been posting on social media about recent vacations and a new car.
They reported their findings to the principal of the Astoria school and the New York Police Department.
In June, the PTA’s balance was $64,817. According to the treasurer’s report presented at the most recent meeting, it had dropped to $12,564 in September.
Gonzalez was elected PTA president in June 2023.
According to an NYPD spokesperson, the PTA reported that unauthorized transactions were made on the group’s business account between December 11th, 2023 and September 23rd, this year.
“We stand by our current PTA members and understand this horrible situation was the actions of one person,” PS 166 Principal Jessica Geller told attendees at the October meeting, according to the minutes.
Claudia Henriquez, the PTA’s acting treasurer, also resigned on Thursday. The PTA announced on Facebook that special elections would be held on November 4th.
In 2023, the parent group for the dual-language, gifted and talented school reported over $92,000 in revenue.
The PTA’s bank accounts are now frozen, and upcoming events for children have been canceled.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation is still ongoing.
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