NORTHEAST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida school’s finance director was arrested after being accused of embezzling funds.
Jennifer Tirado appeared before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer on Wednesday.
The 43-year-old was charged with one count of grand theft and one count of organized scheme to defraud.
Tirado was the former director of finance at the Scheck Hillel Community School, located at 19000 NE 25th Ave. in Northeast Miami-Dade.
According to the arrest warrant, in February of 2020, as the pandemic was becoming public knowledge, Tirado prepared to send 28 electronic transfers of school funds to her own accounts, as well as five business accounts. Most of the funds were transmitted to her accounts.
The first four payments were made in three weeks.
The value of her five-month take-home wages were over $53,000.
In July 2020, she continued to divert money, which continued for 10 months. On Jan. 12, 2021, the interim director at the community school reported the theft of a quarter million dollars.
It wasn’t until May 2021 that two employees with the school noticed that the money was sent to incorrect bank accounts.
The errors were brought to Tirado’s attention, and she assured the employees that she would handle the situation. She never did and was eventually confronted by the interim head of the school.
Tirado was fired in November 2021.
An internal audit uncovered 33 fraudulent transfers, and investigators with the Miami-Dade Police Department found a total of $245,465.
Some of the money, according to the arrest warrant, was spent at the Coconut Creek Seminole Casino.
Rabbi Ari Leubitz, head of the school, released a statement that reads as follows: “We have informed our school community about a breach of financial trust by a former employee of the Finance office and the actions we have taken to address it. We have already been covered in full by our insurance company and have been made whole financially. In the Fall of 2021, key Finance team members discovered possible misappropriation of funds and reported this to school leadership. The now-former employee was immediately questioned and suspended, and we began further investigation. As a result, the employee was terminated and it was determined that no other employees were involved.”
Tirado’s bond was set at $50,000.
A Nebbia hearing will also take place, which means investigators need to know where the source of that bond is coming from.
Copyright 2023 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.