Police arrested the former Parent Teacher Association (PTA) president of a Mansfield Independent School District (MISD) elementary school.
Authorities took Jennifer Medina into custody last Friday, charging her with a state jail felony — theft of property $2,500 – $30,000 — after the current PTA president at Roberta Tipps Elementary alerted the MISD Police Department about thousands of dollars that were missing from the PTA’s treasury.
On November 30, 2022, the current PTA president, whose name has not been made public by law enforcement, reported to MISD police that Medina had embezzled upwards of $14,000 of PTA funds while she was president and had access to the organization’s bank account, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
MISD police launched an investigation, which culminated in an interview with Medina by detectives on January 12, 2023.
Investigators claimed to have found seven PayPal transactions made to Medina that transferred money from the PTA’s treasury to her personal possession. The seven transactions totaled $7,690 and allegedly occurred between December 24, 2021, and August 8, 2022, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
During the interview with detectives, Medina confirmed that PTA funds were in fact transferred via PayPal into a PayPal account she controlled. She also asserted that she was not currently in possession of the ill-gotten money, Fox 4 reported.
The current PTA president decided to press charges against Medina, which resulted in the latter’s arrest last week.
Medina is now out on bail. It is unclear whether she has secured legal representation.
The Dallas Express reached out to the MISD Police Department for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
Like much of North Texas, Mansfield has seen a rise in thefts and other property crimes in recent years, the bulk of which occurred within Dallas city limits.
According to the City of Dallas Open Data crime analytics dashboard, theft offenses have increased in the city for the last two years in a row, spiking by roughly 7% in that time period.