Rosemount Parent Stole From Eastview High School Party: Charges

ROSEMOUNT, MN — A woman from Rosemount has been charged for stealing money from a parent group planning the senior graduation party at Eastview High School. Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announced that Jill Lynn Fiedler, 38, was charged this week with felony theft in connection with the loss of about $8,727.00 from a high school senior party group from October of 2016 through February of 2017. The criminal complaint alleges Fiedler stole this money by fraudulently writing checks to herself and paying for her PayPal account while she was volunteering as the treasurer for the parent group planning the senior graduation party at Eastview High School in Apple Valley.

Apple Valley police officers say they spoke with members of the parent group, who said the group was formed to fundraise and organize the senior party for 2017. In February of 2017 they had discovered some unusual transactions involving the bank account for the group, according to a news release.

The members stated that the treasurer of the group was the only one with access to the group’s bank accounts. The members say they checked the bank account records and discovered several checks and debit card transactions totaling $3,787.64 that could not be accounted for and were not authorized by the group.

There were also several debit card transactions: including charges from a PayPal account not associated with the parent group’s activities and a cash withdrawal from an ATM totaling $4,939.59, according to police. When Fiedler was interviewed by officers, authorities say she admitted to making the transactions. She claimed to have made some of the transaction to obtain cash advances to purchase prize items for the party. She stated that she knew she would have to repay these funds, according to police.

Officers were told that as of April 11, none of the money had been returned to the parent group. Backstrom commented: "Financial crimes involving funds solicited to benefit youth activities are especially troubling." Fiedler was charged by summons, and her first court appearance has been set for August 7 at 9:00 a.m. in Hastings. Backstrom thanked the Apple Valley Police Department for their investigation.

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