A former Monroe County elementary school PTO treasurer faces indictment after a state investigation looked into her handling of organization money.
Jennifer Letner has been indicted in Monroe County on a count of theft over $10,000. The state Comptroller's Office looked into her handling of money while serving as a parent teacher organization treasurer at Tellico Plains Elementary School.
Letner is alleged to have taken nearly $23,000.
She was PTO treasurer in the 2018-19 school year, according to the Comptroller's Office.
"She admitted to investigators that she was experiencing financial difficulties and used PTO funds to pay personal living expenses," a release from the Comptroller's Office states.
The state investigation found Letner used a PTO debit card to make personal purchases of more than $6,700 for things such as auto loans and birthday party supplies.
She also made cash withdrawals from the PTO account and wrote PTO checks to herself or her husband
"She signed the PTO president’s name on at least eight of the unauthorized checks," according to the comptroller.
Comptroller Jason Mumpower noted in Wednesday's release that Letner was "the only one who had access to the PTO bank account statements, and the PTO did not require two signatures on checks. These are just two examples of controls that can help prevent or detect fraudulent activity.”
