On Wednesday, authorities reported the arrest of a PTA mom from Long Island, who stands accused of embezzling over $50,000 from an elementary school over three years. During this period, she was also employed as an officer with the New York Police Department.
Jodi Scarlatos, 43, a resident of Centereach, held the position of treasurer for the Jericho Elementary School PTA. Prosecutors allege that she diverted association funds for personal use and expenses, beginning around the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
A lawsuit filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court claims that Scarlatos engaged in these financial misdeeds as she began missing mortgage payments starting in July 2022, which led her bank to commence foreclosure proceedings. The lawsuit notes that her total debt exceeds $375,000.
Her alleged activities were uncovered when the PTA bank account was handed over to a new board in 2023, revealing significant financial inconsistencies.
Jodi Scarlatos was taken into custody on Monday, facing accusations of misappropriating $50,000 from the elementary school PTA over a three-year period.
“Parent Teacher Associations are crucial to school communities throughout Suffolk County,” stated District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “The allegations in this case signify a breach of trust placed by Centereach residents in this defendant. My office remains committed to ensuring that individuals who unlawfully benefit at the public’s expense are held accountable.”
Her lawyer told Fox News Digital Thursday that the PTA mom had previously worked as a transit officer with the New York Police Department. She reportedly retired from the force in January 2025.
According to prosecutors, Scarlatos served as treasurer of the Jericho Elementary School PTA from July 2020 through September 2023.
A sign for the Jericho Elementary School stands at the entrance of a campus in New York. (Google Maps)
During that time, she was issued a debit card intended solely for PTA-related expenses but allegedly used the funds for restaurants, hotels, rental cars, Best Buy, Ticketmaster, Amazon and Verizon Wireless.
Scarlatos also allegedly moved cash from the PTA coffers into her personal bank account, prosecutors alleged.
In addition, officials said she continued making transactions during summer recesses and holiday breaks, periods when school was not in session.
In July 2022, Scarlatos allegedly stopped paying her mortgage, according to a foreclosure lawsuit filed by U.S. Bank Trust National Association in March 2024. Court records point to mounting financial pressure and significant debt leading up to the action.
The following year, just months before she stepped away from her school role, the embattled PTA official had initiated a small fundraiser for a hospital supported by the elementary school, according to her Facebook page.
“Help me raise funds for St. Jude!,” she wrote in a Jan. 17, 2023, Facebook post. “I’ve joined the fight to help end childhood cancer by participating in the St. Jude Math-A-Thon. I’m solving math problems and raising funds to help St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. You can help me reach my fundraising goal for the kids of St. Jude, who are battling cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”
Photo of front entrance of Jericho Middle School, located in Jericho, New York, on Nov. 14, 2024. (Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Scarlatos’ transactions allegedly continued until the next board members for the 2023–2024 school year took over and discovered the troubling findings, according to investigators.
Scarlatos ultimately surrendered to the District Attorney’s Office on Monday and was arraigned before District Court Judge Jonathan Bloom on a charge of grand larceny in the second degree, a Class C felony.
If convicted, she faces five to 15 years in prison.
The Long Island mom was released without bail and is due back in court on May 5, 2026.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Jericho Elementary School PTA and NYPD for more information.
