The former treasurer of the Kelly School Parent Teacher Organization is accused of embezzling $48,979 from the organization.
Barbara Jean Tabaldi, 52, of Tracy, was arrested by Tracy Police Department on Dec. 3 and booked into the county jail on a $50,000 arrest warrant, according to a Wednesday news release from the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s office.
Tabaldi is accused of mismanaging the school’s PTO Club and Teachers PTO accounts from July 19, 2010, through July 1, 2014, as well as withdrawing funds using a debit card that she had issued in her name, according to court documents.
It is also alleged that she used the debit card at Disney Resorts during October 2013 without the knowledge or permission of the two PTO clubs.
Tabaldi verbally resigned as treasurer on July 8, 2014, after holding the position since July 1, 2010.
The criminal charges against her followed an investigation by Tracy Police Detective Alexi Kalinin and a forensic examination of the finances of the school PTO conducted by Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co., a Pleasanton accounting firm, according to the release.
The Kelly School principal could not be reached for comment as of press time.
District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar stated that “maintaining strong accounting controls, rotating bookkeeping duties and maintaining insurance are key to controlling embezzlements.”
“The district attorney’s office is doing everything possible to fight these crimes, which we see as a threat to quality of life,” she said in the release. “Embezzlements hollow out businesses and organizations — killing jobs and cutting services which the people of San Joaquin County rely on.”
Tabaldi, who was released from the county jail last week, promised to appear for arraignment at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 28 in the Manteca Branch of San Joaquin Superior Court.
The prosecutor of the case, Deputy District Attorney Stephen Taylor, said Wednesday that the district attorney’s office believed that pressing embezzlement charges in situations like this could help solve the problem.
“I hope if we keep prosecuting these cases, there will be enough notice that people will tighten their businesses up,” he said. “This is a problem, and the only way to stop it is for victims to be more resistant.”
Barbara Jean Tabaldi is facing a tough holiday season. The 52-year-old former treasurer of the Kelly School Parent Teacher Organization is facing charges of embezzling $48,979 from the organization.
She was arrested Dec. 3 and released on $50,000 bail until her next court appearance on Dec. 28 in the Manteca Branch of San Joaquin Superior Court. Her charges are one in a string of embezzlement cases that have been brought throughout the county in the last year.
Tabaldi is accused of mismanaging the school’s PTO Club and Teachers PTO accounts from July 19, 2010, through July 1, 2014 and using a debit card for personal expenses such as a Disney Resort in October 2013.
Embezzlement continues to be a large problem in San Joaquin County. PTOs are an easy target due to the fact that they deal with large sums of money from fundraisers often held to help pay for school activities.
Defendants in PTO cases range from school district employees to parents and volunteers. Tabaldi was a mother and volunteer with the group.
There are things PTOs and similar organizations can due to minimize their risk. San Joaquin Deputy District Attorney Stephen Taylor suggests rotating treasurers at least every year, and have a finance committee monitor bank reconciliations, cancelled checks and bank and credit card statements in committee regularly.
Lack of standard protocols by such organizations on the handling of money leads to continued problems with PTO embezzlements.
Taylor suggests school districts impose rules or standards on the PTOs operating in their schools so that as a minimum no one person has enduring sole control over the money and records.
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