Fairfax County police have charged a former elementary school PTA president with embezzling more than $180,000 during the five years she led the group.
Triantafilitsa Mattfeld, 48, served as president and treasurer of the Navy Elementary School PTA, now called a parent teacher organization, between 2001 and 2006.
She turned herself in Wednesday afternoon following a two-month investigation, which began after BB&T Bank notified the group of an anomaly within the PTA’s bookkeeping, according to Fairfax County police spokesman Officer Eduardo Azcarate.
The PTA then quickly notified police, according to a letter current president Melissa McDaniel sent to Navy Elementary families Thursday. McDaniel called the circumstances “deeply troubling.”
“The newly elected board is committed to regaining the organization’s financial footing and restoring the community’s confidence in the PTO so that it can continue serving the children and families of Navy,” McDaniel wrote.
McDaniel declined comment Thursday, and Mattfeld could not be reached by phone.
A police news release stated Mattfeld was taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center after her arrest, although the jail said it had no record of her as an inmate.
Fairfax County schools spokesman Paul Regnier said the PTA money in question is separate from public school funds.
“Obviously, [PTAs] do a lot for the schools,” he said. “This is just a very unfortunate situation.”
Navy Elementary School, on West Ox Road, serves about 825 students from kindergarten to sixth grade, according to county data posted online.
McDaniel said the PTO will perform an internal investigation of the alleged embezzlement and has “launched a review of its organizational structure, internal controls, and financial processes and procedures to identify weaknesses and implement appropriate measures to address them.”
