Items seized from home of PTO president in Virginia

The president of a local Parent-Teacher Organization is under investigation after $22,000 went missing from that group and another PTO she previously headed in Frederick County, court documents show.




Investigators with the Frederick County Sheriff's Office seized numerous items from the home of Shawn Bianco, 109 Georgetowne Court, Stephens City, on Friday afternoon, according to a search warrant filed Monday in Circuit Court. Authorities sought the warrant to search her house in relation to embezzlement, the document states.



Court papers identify Bianco as the president of the PTO for Robert E. Aylor Middle School, and state she served in the same capacity for the group at Bass-Hoover Elementary School. Bank certificates of deposit for $18,000 and $4,000 are now reported missing from the PTOs of both schools, according to an affidavit for the search warrant filed Wednesday.



Bianco has not been charged with any crime related to the investigation, court records show.



Catherine Young, the current president of the Bass-Hoover Elementary School PTO, spoke to investigator Tim Juergens on Friday, and explained that $18,000 in the form of a bank certificate of deposit was missing from the group's account, according to the affidavit. Young told the investigator Bianco preceded her as president and now serves in that capacity for the PTO at Robert E. Aylor Middle School, the affidavit states.



"[Young] stated that she reported the missing funds to Deborah Curtis who is the PTO treasurer and Deborah confronted Shawn Bianco about the missing funds and Shawn admitted to using the $18,000 to pay for her mortgage because she was going to lose her home," Juergens states in the affidavit.



Investigator Bryce Davis spoke to Curtis, who stated Bianco "admitted to her taking the funds," according to the affidavit.



"Deborah stated that Shawn told her 'your not going to find the CD, I took the money out, I cashed it, I had no choice, I needed the money to pay on my house, the bank was going to foreclose on it, My mom was sick and my child needed braces," the affidavit states. "Deborah stated that Shawn told her that she took the money 4 years prior and told her the money was gone. Deborah stated that Shawn said 'please don't tell anyone.'"



Davis spoke Friday to Aylor's principal, David Rudy, who identified Bianco as the president, secretary and treasurer of the school's PTO, according to the affidavit. Rudy checked and found the PTO was missing a $4,000 CD from the group's account, the affidavit states.



Young stated Bianco used a computer to generate all treasurer minute reports but that she has turned over no such records to the PTO as of that day, according to the affidavit.

Investigators seized a laptop and a desktop computer from the residence, along with miscellaneous documents from the Aylor and Bass-Hoover organizations, the Sherando Warriors Club, the Georgetowne Home Owners Association, a Disney World vacation, other papers and a black bag, the inventory shows.