Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
A former Levittown parent teacher organization (PTO) leader was arraigned Thursday on charges she stole nearly $6,000 from the group.
Cheryl A. Fox-Brito, 37, of Lower Makefield, was accused by Bucks County Detectives of completing 85 unauthorized transactions totaling $5,856.09 and incurring a $78 overdraft fee from Walt Disney Elementary School PTO accounts between 2014 and 2018.
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Fox-Brito served as the Tullytown school’s PTO treasurer for the 2014 to 2016 school year and held the president position for 2016 to 2018. During that time, she allegedly had access to the groups’ accounts.
In September 2018, Walt Disney Principal Laurie Ruffing contacted county detectives regarding the possible misappropriation of funds by a PTO representative. From there, county detectives launched a probe.
According to court papers, Fox-Brito told the principal during a meetings that she was unable to provide receipts for the purchases flagged.
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Two Bucks County Detectives spoke with Fox-Brito in October and she explained that she had a personal account at the same bank the PTO used and must have “inadvertently” confused the cards when making cash withdrawals and charges. She also stated a mix up also caused a similar problem with the Amazon Prime account she used, authorities said.
Detectives used a search warrant to obtain bank records and Amazon records connected to the PTO and Fox-Brito, court papers listed.
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“Cheryl is a loving, active mom and great community advocate and volunteer. We look forward to resolving this matter to keep her good name clean,” said Paul Lang, the attorney representing Fox-Brito.
Fox-Brito was arraigned before District Judge Robert Wagner Jr. Thursday morning on charges of theft and access device fraud. She was released on $25,000 unsecured bail.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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