A San Jose parent has been charged with siphoning thousands of dollars out of Lynhaven Elementary School’s PTA fund. Marianne Favro reports.
A San Jose parent has been charged with siphoning thousands of dollars out of Lynhaven Elementary School’s PTA fund.
Keith Michael Dennis, 44, was the volunteer financial secretary at the school from 2009 to 2012.
Santa Clara County prosecutors say he illegally got ahold of the PTA funds by forging checks to reimburse himself for expenses for fictional fundraisers and field trips.
The forged checks “reimbursed” Dennis for expenses as a printer, cookie dough fundraiser, and school logo clothing, when he was due no such reimbursement, according to prosecutors.
In one case, prosecutors said Dennis was supposed to have deposited hundreds in cash to the PTA’s bank account, but the actual deposit was $16.
“Mr. Dennis is alleged to have abused the trust of the Lynhaven PTA and pocketed money intended to benefit its young students,” prosecutor Judy Lee said.
He surrendered to police Wednesday.
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The criminal investigation started last year when a school auditor forwarded to police a report detailing thousands in missing money and its suspicions of Dennis’s thefts. Prosecutors charged Dennis with grand theft, embezzlement and two counts of forgery.
The money he is accused of stealing was intended to help fund student activities.
Dennis is a parent of Lynhaven students and had been employed by the school as a substitute teacher in the past, according to prosecutors.
