SPOKANE, Wash. — The president and treasurer of Freeman School District’s nonprofit Parent Teacher Student Group (PTSG) is accused of stealing more than $6,000 from the group’s bank account, according to court documents.
Tara Profit was arrested Thursday afternoon for first degree theft, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.
According to court documents, it appears Profit used the account to shop at a handful of department stores, including Nordstrom, Costco and American Eagle.
Brooke Hames, another PTSG board member, said she suspected Profit of stealing money from the group’s Banner Bank account. Hames provided detectives with various documents supporting the allegation, according to court documents.
According to court documents, Profit served as treasurer during the 2017-2018 school year and was serving as president and treasurer for 2018-2019 as of July and August 2018.
As treasurer, Profit provided board members with a copy of the Banner Bank statement at monthly meetings. She did not provide statements for May, June, July or August, according to court documents.
On Aug. 13, 2018, Hames asked Profit how much money the PTSG had in its group account. According to court documents, Profit would not answer and wrote “245” on a sheet of paper. Profit then confirmed there was $245 in the account after Hames asked if this was the case. Officials said she blamed the low amount on over spending the previous school year.
The 2017-2018 president Katie Millhorn said the PTSG typically has $16,000 to $18,000 in the account during a good year and at least $7,000 during a bad year, according to court documents.
Profit said the low balance was caused by board members going over budget on scholarship awards, according to court documents.
Hames told detectives the PTSG board chose to go over budget for scholarship awards because the group raised more money than expected the previous year and had funds to provide these scholarships, according to court documents.
A student within the Freeman School District was awarded a $500 scholarship by the PTSG to attend an event but Pratt never received these funds, according to court documents. Hames realized the student had not attended the event on Aug. 16 and texted Profit about the issue.
During a text conversation, Profit told Hames she had looked at the account and realized her personal expenses were somehow being deducted from the account, according to court documents.
According to court documents, Hames and Profit also discussed the check that student Pratt did not receive. Profit said she would get online to look at the records, then texted Hames, “OK something is seriously wrong Brooke” and “It’s showing my transactions on the business account I am seriously freaking the f*** out.” She also sent a text that read, “How is that even possible.”
According to court documents, Profit texted Hames asking if she could call her and sent what appears to be a list of personal debits from the account, including purchases at Nordstrom, Costco, Target, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Dick's Sporting Goods, Vans, Golden Gem, American Eagle and a comic book store.
Profit texted, “This is what shows up when I go to check MY bank account on my app on my phone” and “It shows MY debit card transactions and nothing about it not being my account.” She also sent messages that read, “I’m heading out soon to go to the bank and transfer the money over” and “I feel beyond horrible right now like I should have noticed what was going on I will step down from the Ptsg if you don’t trust me anymore.”
On Aug. 17, Profit texted Hames that there were deposits of hers that went into the account too over the last few weeks, according to court documents. Profit said she would go into the bank that day because she looked things over and they “weren’t making sense.” She texted, “I am also cancelling my banner bank account asobof [sic] today there won’t be anymore transactions.”
Hames said she first became aware that Profit spent the money during a phone call. Profit told Hames she opened a personal bank account at Banner in April, according to court documents. A short time later, she received a debit card with just her name on it, which she believed was for her personal account. When she got online, she said realized her personal expenses were being charged to the PTSG account. She also said her paycheck had been deposited in.
Detectives did not find any deposits consistent with the deposit of a paycheck, according to court documents.
According to court documents, Hames told the detective that the PTSG bylaws require all checks drafted by the group require two authorized signatures – the treasurer and another executive board member. Hames said none of the procedures were followed in the two checks,18 debit card purchases and withdrawals.
In May, Profit completed a reimbursement request for a Walmart purchase. This was authorized and completed according to protocol, according to court documents.
According to court documents, the Banner Bank debit card was sent to Profit’s address and the address on file for the debit card was changed from Freeman Elementary School’s address to Profit’s address. These changes were not authorized.
Freeman Combined PTSG and Tara Profit were printed on the bottom of the debit card.
On Aug. 28, Tara L. Profit sent a cashier’s check for $5,200 to payee Freeman PTSG, according to court documents. Freeman Elementary School principal Lisa Phelan received the check from Profit on Aug. 28.
Phelan said Profit was no longer allowed to have access to any funds that the school or associated groups were responsible for, according to court documents. Profit told Phelan the unauthorized purchases had been a mistake and that “something got tied” to her account. Phelan told Profit that did not explain Profit securing a debit card for the PTSG account, to which Profit did not respond.
According to court documents, Phelan told Profit she should return the merchandise she purchased with PTSG funds and return the money. The next day, Profit sent the cashier’s check.
Detectives have issued a search warrant for all account records for the PTSG Banner Bank account from the time of Aug. 1 to present and records for all Banner Bank accounts under the control of – or otherwise associated with – Tara L. Profit.