An Arizona mother has been charged with committing a horrific offense at her children’s school.
Scottsdale police say Nubia Gonzalez, who has four children in the city’s school district, stole more than $35,000 from the Cocopah Parent Teacher Association, which raises money for school activities, field trips and other activities at Cocopah High School.
She had been elected APT treasurer in April and was a beloved mother who frequently volunteered in her children’s classrooms. Fox 19 reports.
But she has since disappeared, accused of defrauding the school district in order to transfer the volunteer group’s funds into her personal account.
Gonzalez was even caught on camera depositing the stolen funds into her bank account before disappearing, closing her phones and social media accounts.
Arizona police are searching for Nubia Gonzalez, a mother of four, accused of stealing more than $35,000 from her children’s high school.
Police say that shortly after the mother of four was elected APT treasurer, she began withdrawing funds that were given to the association.
The association president returned home from a trip on July 2 and noticed that the account was empty. according to KTAR.
The bank later informed the president that several withdrawals, totaling $36,500, had been made between June 28 and July 1.
Officers later discovered that Gonzalez had used fraudulent documents and a fake address when signing on the bank accounts, but when officers went to question her, she disappeared.
“He gave a false address, not just to the police department (Scottsdale Unified School District), but to everyone,” Scottsdale Police Sgt. Allison Sempsis told Fox 19. “So we don’t know where they were living at the time.”
Since then, several parents, school employees and police officials have attempted to contact Gonzalez, but their phone numbers are no longer in service, KTAR reports.
Gonzalez was captured on surveillance footage depositing the stolen funds into her personal bank accounts.
Police now suggest Gonzalez had planned to steal the money as soon as she was elected.
‘That was her only intention; she became treasurer in April, and as soon as she had access to the bank accounts, she emptied them.’
Many parents of children at the high school have since expressed shock and outrage at the mother’s alleged actions.
“I have a background in finance and accounting, and I’m shocked that anyone would do this knowing they’re taking these kinds of funds away from children,” said Rebecca Ryerson.
Tanya Roberts, another mother, called Gonzalez’s alleged actions “devastating.”
Parents are now worried about how they will replace the large sum of money and are praying that families will see the importance of investing in their children’s education when the school year begins.
“I want people to feel like the community we built is as strong as it was 30 days ago, before we knew about this event,” Ryerson said.
“I hope you’ll check out our community in Cocopah and support our fall fundraiser.”
Parents and school officials at Cocopah High School are now worried they may not be able to recover the funds.
In a statement to parents, Scottsdale Unified School District officials also said they were “disappointed to learn of the alleged theft involving the Cocopah High School APT treasurer.”
‘It is disheartening to think that someone could take advantage of the hard work and dedication of our parent groups.
“Our APT, PTO, and Booster Clubs operate as separate nonprofit organizations, and we greatly appreciate their tireless efforts to support our students, staff, and schools,” district officials continued.
‘The primary purpose of these groups is to enhance the educational experience of our students and we are grateful for their unwavering commitment.
‘We want to assure our community that this incident does not reflect the values and integrity of our many volunteers and community partners.
“We hope that this unfortunate situation does not deter our committed community from continuing to serve and support their children.”