VA Woman Charged with Embezzling PTA Funds

Embezzlement is a crime of opportunity and it behoves all groups, especially groups run by volunteers to hae in place an oversight process so that stuff like this doesn't happen.

Fairfax County woman who was formerly president of the parent-teacher association at her children's elementary school has been charged with embezzling $180,000 from the association, Fairfax police said yesterday.

Triantafilitsa Mattfeld, 46, also served a term as treasurer of the PTA at Navy Elementary School, on West Ox Road in the Fair Oaks area, police said, and she was an officer in the group from 2001 to 2006.

But the Navy PTA recently changed affiliations and became a PTO, or parent-teacher organization, police and school officials said. Such groups are formally independent from the school system and have their own bank accounts, though they work closely with teachers and administrators, Fairfax schools spokesman Paul Regnier said.

In June, security officers at BB&T bank noticed unusual activity in the old PTA account, Officer Eddy Azcarate said. He said the bank contacted the new PTO officials, who were surprised because they thought the account had been closed.

In late June, the bank contacted police, and detectives from a financial crimes unit took over, Azcarate said.