Former Brown Deer Elementary PTO treasurer accused of embezzling over $59,000 from the organization
Alec JohnsonA former treasurer of Brown Deer Elementary School's Parent Teacher Organization has been accused of embezzling $59,236 from the organization.
Jennifer Vang, 39, was charged Oct. 25 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with one felony count of theft from a business setting, according to a criminal complaint.
According to the complaint, Vang was treasurer of the school's PTO from about 2013 until July 2019. During that time, Vang wrote numerous personal checks to herself from the PTO bank account, the complaint said. The complaint also alleges that Vang altered a bank statement and provided that false statement to the PTO with the intention of hiding her thefts.
In February, a PTO member spoke with Charlie Wiza, the Brown Deer School District's director of pupil services, questioning why the PTO never seemed to have money and why bills were getting paid late, despite all its fundraising revenue.
The PTO member also said she had requested PTO bank statements on multiple occasions, but they were never provided. Vang canceled multiple meetings the member set up to talk with her, the complaint said.
The complaint said Vang was solely responsible for all the funds in the PTO's account, and that Vang was the only one with access to the account and the only person with the opportunity to write these checks to herself.
In March, the school district's business and finance director, Jeff Serak, found that the PTO's account balance at the end of that month was $1,139. The complaint said Vang provided a spreadsheet that reported the account had $42,040 at the end of March.
When police reviewed the PTO's bank records from January 2013 to March 2019, they found Vang wrote 71 checks to herself from the PTO account, totaling $59,236.
The complaint also stated that it appears Vang attempted to repay a portion of the funds she took, depositing large sums of money back into the PTO account. The complaint also details a wire transfer of $32,600 from Vang's husband into the account. However, the complaint noted that repayment of the funds is not a defense in an embezzlement prosecution.
Vang is scheduled to make an initial court appearance Nov. 14, according to online court records.
School district's response
The Brown Deer School District said in a news release that the district learned through a comprehensive investigation by the Brown Deer Police Department that a former parent volunteer of the elementary parent teacher organization misappropriated funds from the PTO . The district said Vang was the school's former treasurer for at least eight years.
According to the district:
The embezzled funds are not associated with any of the school district's accounts, funds, financial reporting or auditing process required by state law.
The investigation was prompted in February by concerns related to questionable treasurer reports, late payments of bills and an apparent lack of fund balance in the account. PTO leadership was cooperative and has changed its financial practices to include updated by-laws requiring an outside annual audit of their accounts and proper financial controls to prevent any further mishandling of funds raised by the volunteer group. All known misappropriated funds were returned to the Brown Deer Elementary PTO.
"We appreciate the full cooperation of the PTO and the Brown Deer Police Department who took the lead on this investigation to get a favorable outcome for our parent volunteer group," said Brown Deer Superintendent Deb Kerr in a statement.
The PTO in an email declined to respond to questions on the Vang case, but referred a reporter to a post on its Facebook page. In that post, the PTO said it has revamped and voted on new bylaws and policies.
"The Brown Deer PTO is a transparent, open, and official organization dedicated to proper accounting practices and audits," said the Facebook post, which included a link to its current bylaws and budget.
A message on a landline listed to Vang's Brown Deer address said the number was disconnected or no longer in service.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
