School Official Ordered to Repay Embezzled Funds in California

From:  parklabreanewsbeverlypress.com/

A former Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) administrative assistant who admitted to misappropriating public funds from Halldale Elementary School and the school’s PTA was ordered to pay more than $116,000 in restitution, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has announced.
Deputy District Attorney Gary Nielsen, with the Public Integrity Division, said Lisa Ann Castro, 47, was ordered to pay $93,400 to the LAUSD, and $23,000 to Halldale Elementary School.
Castro pleaded guilty on Feb. 3 to one count of misappropriation of public funds, and was sentenced to two years in state prison. In 2005, shortly after being assigned to the school, Castro was given responsibility for two school accounts and was also made treasurer of the PTA and given access to its checking account. She pleaded guilty to stealing from all three accounts between June 2005 and September 2009, and taking the money for personal use. As part of the plea negotiation, prosecutors dismissed three counts of embezzlement and four counts of forging signatures on more than 100 checks, using the names of two different principals and two PTA officials.