She once ran a school’s PTO. Now she’s charged with stealing nearly $10K from it
The one-time president of a Key West elementary school’s Parent Teacher Organization stole $9,800 from a fund that paid for student activities, police said Friday.
The alleged thefts left the PTO account tapped out, police said.
Vivian Tapia-Smith, 38, was jailed Friday on a felony charge of fraud to obtain property under $20,000.
This isn’t her first go-around with the criminal justice system. In fact, it’s her second time within a few months.
In August, Tapia-Smith was arrested on grand theft charges after police said she stole more than $20,000 from the Sears department store where she had been the manager.
She was released from the Stock Island Detention Center within three hours and posted a $50,000 bond, according to jail records.
From late December 2018 until August, Tapia-Smith made more than 20 unauthorized cash withdrawals from the Poinciana Elementary School PTO’s account that totaled $9,800, police said.
Financial records show she simply deposited the stolen cash into her personal bank account, police said.
She took out so much money from the PTO account that the group ran out of money for legitimate purchases, said Key West police spokeswoman Alyson Crean.
Efforts to reach Tapia-Smith were unsuccessful. The Monroe County School District’s spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a message for comment.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 5:58 PM.
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