AZ woman accused of stealing from Scottsdale school group had warrant out of Yuma County | Crime Files

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Court documents are giving us a better look into theft allegations that were made against the former treasurer of a parent-teacher group that is linked to Scottsdale's Cocopah Middle School.

Here are the details on the much-publicized case.

Who's the suspect?

Court documents identified the suspect as 38-year-old Nubia Yareli Gonzalez.

What allegedly happened?

Per investigators and our initial report, Scottsdale Police received a fraud call on July 3 from the president of the organization.

In their initial statement, Scottsdale Police identified the organization as a Parent Teacher Association, or PTA. However, an official with Arizona PTA later told us the organization involved was an Association of Parents and Teachers, or APT. The organization also referred to themselves as an APT on their website.

Investigators wrote that when the APT's president returned from overseas travel, she noticed the group's savings account was zeroed out.

"After she saw this, [the APT president] reached out to the former treasurer to ask her about the zeroed out accounts," read a portion of the court documents. "[The former treasurer] stated that she had no idea what had happened."

Investigators say the APT president, along with the group's former treasurer, reached out to the organization's bank, and eventually discovered several substantial withdrawals that were made from the group's savings and checking accounts by Gonzalez. The withdrawals include:

1. A $25,000 withdrawal from the savings account on June 28
2. A $5,515 withdrawal from the savings account on June 28
3. A $3,010 withdrawal from the checking account on July 1 that was later disputed by Gonzalez
4. A $2,987.09 withdrawal from the savings account on July 1. The savings account was also closed out by Gonzalez on the same day.

"The total combined loss between both accounts was $36,512.09," investigators wrote in the court documents. "Banking documents were obtained directly from Wells Fargo personnel, which showed Nubia Gonzalez signing each withdrawal slip."

Police officials state that Gonzalez was elected as the APT's treasurer on April 14, and was given control and signing authority over the APT's bank accounts on June 28.

"Under Cocopah APT Code of Conduct, you can only use organizational resources for their intended purposes, and never convert them to personal use. This document was signed by Nubia Gonzalez, which matches her MVD signature. Also, under the Cocopah bylaws, you cannot remove over $500 cash without another executor present," investigators wrote, adding that Gonzalez was aware of the $500 cash removal limit, as it was conveyed to her in person by the group's former treasurer.

Per court documents, the APT's former treasurer said she turned over the bank accounts' signing powers to Gonzalez at a bank branch on June 28, after which she left the bank while Gonzalez stayed behind.

"It became readily apparent that Nubia immediately withdrew the money from [the bank] after [the former treasurer] left," a portion of the court documents read.

Investigators said a subpoena of Gonzalez's personal bank records, along with video evidence they managed to get, show Gonzalez depositing $22,300 cash on June 28 into her personal account at a separate banking institution. Investigators said the deposit was made within a few hours of Gonzalez withdrawing money from the APT's savings account.

"The cash was used to pay credit cards and various other accounts including her children. This was also captured on a currency transaction report," investigators wrote.

Police officials said when the APT president approached Gonzalez about the account withdrawals, Gonzalez said she moved the funds from the old savings account to another account that ostensibly belongs to the APT. Gonzalez initially said she moved the money into a savings account that has a higher yielding interest rate, and on July 2, she sent the APT president a screenshot that showed the new savings account. However, the bank later said the screenshot "was not a legitimate view of their online banking system." 

Investigators also said that when the APT president checked with the bank, she was told that there were no new accounts under the Cocopah APT's name. Investigators also accused Gonzalez of creating forged bank e-mails to the APT president.

"This was a well thought-out fraud scheme, which involved counterfeit and forged banking documents," investigators wrote in court documents.

Gonzalez, per court documents, was removed from the APT treasurer post during a July 4 emergency meeting.

Investigators say they later discovered that Gonzalez provided a fake APS electric bill to a Scottsdale elementary school that feeds into Cocopah Middle School. The fake electric bill was discovered when detectives went to the address listed on the bill, only to find a home owner who said she does not know who the suspect is, and that the suspect never lived there.

During the course of the investigation, detectives also found an outstanding warrant for Gonzalez out of Yuma County, where she is accused of failing to appear in court on charges of using public money for personal use.

"The case is currently with the AZ Attorney General's Office," a portion of the court document reads. When contacted, officials with the Attorney General's Office told us they "cannot comment on this matter at this time."

On Aug. 9, detectives said Gonzalez contacted the APT president via a call from a blocked phone number.

"[Gonzalez] stated that she had seen the news and that she wanted to protect her kids. She asked if she could set up an arrangement with the APT board and her," the APT president was quoted as saying, in court documents.  "[Gonzalez] said that she had to move unexpectedly, and it was all very stressful and that was her justification for taking the money."

Court documents also noted that per the APT president, Gonzalez did not apologize, and did not sound remorseful. The APT president then recommended that Gonzalez seek legal counsel and self-surrender.

In a statement, police said Gonzalez turned herself in on the afternoon of Aug. 13.

What are others saying about the incident?

Scottsdale Unified School District

"We are disappointed to learn about the alleged theft involving the treasurer of the Cocopah Middle School APT. It is disheartening to think that someone would take advantage of the hard work and dedication of our parent groups. Our APTs, PTOs, and Booster Clubs operate as separate, non-profit organizations, and we greatly appreciate their tireless efforts to support our students, staff, and schools.

The core purpose of these groups is to enhance the educational experience for our students, and we are grateful for their unwavering commitment. We want to assure our community that this incident does not reflect the values and integrity of our many volunteers and community partners.

We hope that this unfortunate situation will not deter our engaged community from continuing to serve and give in support of their children."

Cocopah Middle School APT

"The Cocopah APT would like to express our appreciation to the community at large for all the support shown to us. We are moving forward stronger and more united than ever. 

We have added additional security measures and will continue to educate and inform other school parent organizations to learn from this incident and adapt their processes as well. Unfortunately at this time, it does not appear the money will be recovered. We are working hard to raise needed funds for our school and students during our current fundraising campaign for this school year.

This investigation is in the very capable hands of Maricopa County and we thank them as well as the Scottsdale PD for their diligent work in this matter."

What is Gonzalez accused of?

Per court documents, Gonzalez is accused of:

• One count of theft (A.R.S. 13-1802A3)
• One count of fraudulent schemes and artifices (A.R.S. 13-2310A)
• One count of forgery (A.R.S. 13-2002A3)

A judge has set a $40,000 bond for Gonzalez. Should she make bond, she would be subjected to, among other things, electronic monitoring, curfew restrictions, and a requirement to provide the court with proof of her local address.

Per the documents, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 22.