Hicksville Woman Sentenced for Stealing $45K From Conn. Parent Teacher Organization

A Hicksville woman arrested in May 2015 will not serve any jail time for stealing more than $45,000 from the bank accounts of a parent teacher organization for a Connecticut elementary school.

Sarah Chiarelli, 37, was sentenced Friday to an 8-year suspended sentence with five years probation and was ordered to do 200 hours of community service, according to the CT Post.

Chiarelli, a former treasurer of the Stepney Parent Teacher Organization in Monroe, CT pleaded "no contest" in November to embezzling over $45,000 and using the money on personal items, including a trip to Disney World, authorities say.

The Monroe Police Detective Division’s investigation revealed that Chiarelli was the only individual to have access to the PTO banking accounts.

According to police, Chiarelli was the PTO Treasurer when the embezzlements occurred and was also the past president of the PTO. During the course of executing a search and seizure warrant at her residence in Monroe, she admitted to misappropriating PTO funds for her own use but substantially underestimated the dollar amount she embezzled, police said.

An audit of the banking accounts revealed that Chiarelli allegedly made a total of 226 illegitimate transactions totaling over $30,000 embezzled for her personal use. Police say Chiarelli used these funds to pay for household expenses, a Disney World vacation, over $14,000 in cash withdrawals and close to $10,000 in checks, some made out to herself and deposited into her personal banking account.

Soon after the alleged embezzlement was reported to police, Chiarelli moved to Hicksville. According to police, her attorney remained in contact the Monroe Police Department to ensure she surrendered herself when an arrest warrant was issued.

Image via Monroe PD