The former administrator of Cimarron Montessori School was charged Monday with three felony counts of embezzlement accusing her of taking more than $25,000 from the school over a six-year period, records show.
Deborah Cribley, 45, appeared Tuesday morning before Special District Judge Brian Lovell with her attorney Steve Cameron, online court records show. Cribley posted a $1,000 bond and will appear Thursday for arraignment of the charges.
One of the charges accuses Cribley of taking more than $25,000 from the school between January 2012 and March 2018. She faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000 and restitution on that embezzlement charge. She faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000 and restitution on the other two charges, accusing her of taking more than $1,000 from one of the school's bank accounts and the school's Walmart credit card, records show.
On April 17, 2018, police met with Deborah Wilczek and Tara Ramos, two members of the board of trustees for Cimarron Montessori School.
Wilczek told Detective Brad Pritchett in November 2017 the school was in a financial bind, according to an affidavit filed in the case. She said she for the first time the school may not be able to make payroll. She said the board began working with Cribley to go over the financials.
Wilczek said in February 2018, the board found several discrepancies in the financials that were not explainable, according to the affidavit. She said at a March 2018 board meeting members asked Cribley for the school's bank statements to see what was happening.
Obvious discrepancies
On April 2, 2018, the board met to review the financial documents from August 2017 to March 2018. Wilczek said there were obvious discrepancies, according to the affidavit. Wilczek said the board met with Cribley and told her she could resign or they would terminate her.
Wilczek told police since April 2, 2018, the board began to look into the financials for Cimarron Montessori. She said when the statement for the school's Walmart card arrived, they noticed charges for makeup, self tanner and other items purchased that were not for the school, according to the affidavit. Ramos said while reviewing the school's Central National Bank and Alva State Bank & Trust documents, they found where Cribley was paying her personal Dillard's credit card with school funds, according to the affidavit.
Ramos said when they confronted Cribley about this, she claimed in her role as an administrator one of her jobs was to buy future silent auction items, according to the affidavit. Ramos said Cribley said she was buying the items on clearance. Wilczek and Ramos told police the only documentation they had ever seen as a board in relation to finances had come from a QuickBooks program.
The women told police there was only one debit card for the CNB account and only one Walmart card, according to the affidavit. They said Cribley was the only one to have those cards.
On April 19, 2018, Pritchett met with Cribley, her husband, Kenny Cribley, and Cameron, her attorney, records show.
Pritchett asked Cribley to tell him about her position as administrator and why she left the school, according to the affidavit. Cribley said at a March 26, 2018, board meeting it was discussed that a teacher might have to be laid off because of the school's financial situation. She said the board requested she get all of the financial documents together so the board could review them. She said she gave the board the documents March 30, 2018.
Cribley said a meeting was held April 2, 2018, and the board asked her about a couple of transactions she did not have receipts for, according to the affidavit. Cribley said after the meeting she was given the option to resign from her position or she would be fired. Cribley said she opted to resign.
When asked by Pritchett, Cribley confirmed she was responsible for Cimarron Montessori's bank accounts, according to the affidavit. Pritchett asked if anyone assisted her with those duties. Cribley said the only time anyone else was involved was when a teacher would buy something for the school on their personal bank account, then she would reimburse the teacher. She said she was the only one with control over the school's bank accounts.
Cribley said the school has three accounts: an operating account through CNB, a fundraising account through Alva State Bank and a money market account at Security National Bank, according to the affidavit. Cribley said there was a debit card and credit card kept in a lock box in her office. When asked who had access to the cards, Cribley said, "Just myself."
Pritchett told Cribley one of the accusations from the board was she was misusing the school's debit and credit card. He asked if she had ever misused or purchased any personal items for herself on either card, according to the affidavit. Cribley said as far as misuse of the cards, she replied, "No, sir." He asked Cribley if she ever purchased personal items with the cards. Cribley said if she purchased any personal items with the cards, she would reimburse the school by making a deposit in the school's bank account.
Cribley said the school board allowed her to make purchases of personal items on the school's debit and credit card as long as she reimbursed the school for the charges, according to the affidavit. Pritchett asked Cribley if she ever purchased personal items on the school's cards. She said she was sure there times she had done this, but she could not recall.
Cribley said she was confronted by the board about using the cards for personal use, according to the affidavit. She said she told the board she could go through all the receipts, but the board would not give her access to them.
Pritchett told Cribley he had some Cimarron Montessori Walmart credit card statements he wanted to go over with her. He showed Cribley a charge for Rotel Diced Tomatoes, and Cribley said it might have been purchased for a fundraiser, according to the affidavit. He showed her charges for barbecue pizza, Totino's Pizza, Little Smokies and grilled chicken breast. Cribley said those items might have been food they were keeping at the refrigerator at the school.
When shown a charge for Axe body spray, Cribley said, "I have no idea," according to the affidavit. She was shown a charge for diced onions and cut okra, and Cribley said it was for the lunch program. When shown a charge to tanning lotion, Cribley again said, "I have no idea."
Pritchett showed Cribley a charge for an Apple TV for $159. Cribley said that was probably a personal purchase, according to the affidavit.
Pritchett asked Cribley how often she would use the Walmart card for personal use, according to the affidavit. Cribley said she kept track of her personal purchases. She said when the Walmart bill would come in, she would write a personal check for her part of the bill. She said if she did not send a personal check with the bill, she would write one to the school.
Cameron asked Cribley if this was a common practice since she had been employed with the school, and she stated, "Yeah," according to the affidavit. Pritchett asked Cribley if the school was aware she was using the Walmart card for her personal use, and Cribley said they should have been.
Fraudulent charges
During the investigation, Pritchett spoke with Kay Chatterji, who served as vice president and president of the Cimarron Montessori board of directors.
He asked Chatterji if it has ever been approved that the school administrator could use school funds for personal purchases, according to the affidavit. Chatterji said "no."
He told Chatterji when he spoke with Cribley, she said the board knew she was making personal purchases with school funds, according to the affidavit. He also told Chatterji that Cribley said the board allowed her to do this as long as she paid the money back by the end of the fiscal year. Chatterji said she has never heard of anything like that.
Pritchett reviewed the charges on the Walmart credit card using statements from Nov. 5, 2015, to March 3, 2018, according to the affidavit. The total amount of fraudulent charges on the Walmart card is $6,407.55.
Pritchett told Cribley he wanted to go over the school’s CNB account, providing her with a statement for January 2018, according to the affidavit. The first charge was to Chick-Fil-A for $42.12.
Cribley said she keeps a general ledger of transactions, and she advised the board of this. Pritchett asked Cribley if the board knew she was using the debit card to make personal purchases, and she said, “I don’t think they did.” Cribley said past boards knew she was doing this. She said her reimbursements for using the debit and credit cards were due by the end of the fiscal year, which was in July.
Pritchett asked Cribley how long she had been using the school’s debit and credit cards, according to the affidavit. She said is depended and said she had spent more on personal items in 2018 than she had in the past.
Pritchett asked Cribley if she ever used the Alva State Bank account for personal use. Cribley said she would have to go back through and look, according to the affidavit. Pritchett asked Cribley if she would be able to provide documentation showing the reimbursements. Cribley said, “Hopefully, I can.”
She said when she reimbursed the school she would put the money into the Alva State Bank account, according to the affidavit. Pritchett asked if the reimbursement would be a personal check from her and Cribley said, “Right.”
When asked how many personal checks she’d written the school since 2009, Cribley said she had no idea.
Pritchett asked Cribley if she ever made any personal credit card payments with school funds, and she said she had, according to the affidavit. Cribley said she had made payments on her Dillard’s credit card, JCPenney credit card and Old Navy credit card. She said the payments were from using her personal credit cards to purchase silent auction items for the school.
Review of accounts
Pritchett reviewed the SNB personal checking account for Cribley and her husband for checks written to Cimarron Montessori that were relevant to the investigation, according to the affidavit. There were five checks written listed in the affidavit.
• On Aug. 8, 2010, Cribley wrote a check to Cimarron Montessori in the amount of $3,350. The memo line of the check states, “Cash/temp loan/full repayment.”
• On Jan. 21, 2011, Cribley wrote a check to “Cash” in the amount of $960. The memo of the check states, “School reimbursement-Alva.”
• On July 20, 2011, Cribley wrote a check to Cimarron Montessori School in the amount of $700. The memo of the check states, “Repayment/deposit.”
• On July 20, 2011, Cribley wrote a check for “Cash Withdrawal” in the amount of $200. The memo states, “CMS petty cash repayment.”
• On Dec. 22, 2011, Cribley wrote a check to “Cash” in the amount of $235. The memo of the check states, “Silent Auction/Petty Cash.”
Pritchett reviewed the Cimarron Montessori School CNB account from Jan. 1, 2018, to March 31, 2018, according to the affidavit. The amount of unauthorized charges made by Cribley from the account in that time is $3,782.91.
A review of the account between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2017, found Cribley wrote made a total of $20,093 charges to the account, according to the affidavit. There were also checks in the amount of $350 to JCP/Synchrony Bank and $288.95 to Uptown Florist written by Cribley from the account.
Pritchett also found a printed email for Life Touch School portraits, according to the affidavit. The email was a receipt for an order placed Oct. 11, 2017, by Cribley in the amount of $77 using the Cimarron Montessori debit card, according to the affidavit. Another email was printed out for Jostens.com for the purchase of 25 cards and 25 envelope seals. The email was a receipt for an order placed March 7, 2017, by Cribley in the amount of $62.32 using the school's debit card. The order shows the recipient as Karson Cribley, Deborah's child.
Pritchett also found a receipt for a yearbook for Cribley's child, according to the affidavit. The $78 purchase was made March 6, 2017, using the school's debit card.
Pritchett reviewed the records for the school's CNB account and found the following unauthorized charges for each year made by Cribley: 2016: $23,556.40; 2015: $21,221.92; 2014: $24,030.64; 2013: $15,536.58; and 2012: $5,436.86.
A review of the school's Alva State Bank & Trust account from 2012 to 2018, found Cribley wrote unauthorized checks totaling $19,145.45, according to the affidavit.
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