Parent Grafted Nearly $30K From Children’s Candy Sale Proceeds

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(NewsWorthy.news) – A parent teacher association (PTA) treasurer has pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars donated to a fundraiser for a public middle school in Baltimore County.

46-year-old James Harris had served as the treasurer for the PTA that benefits Stemmers Run Middle School in Essex, Maryland at the time of his grand theft. When the nonprofit was raising money by having students sell chocolate bars, Harris confiscated a total of $29,000. The crime took place over the course of a year, from April 2022 until March 2023.

The incident was brought to law enforcement following a confrontation with a school official and a parent, who became suspicious of Harris’ actions. The former treasurer conceded to having transferred the funds to PayPal accounts and later spent it for personal use, including online gambling sites.

While Harris could be dealt a sentence of up to 10 years in jail—and the state of Maryland is working to punish him with prison time—the former PTA member has accepted a plea deal. Under this agreement, he will not be sentenced for the next six months but instead be paying restitution. To date, Harris has returned $8,000 of the nearly $30,000 he stole, having taken money from his retirement account as he continues to pay back the hefty sum.

Harris was first arrested in July 2023, eight months before he pleaded guilty to charges brought against him.

The funds stolen by the former treasurer were intended to be distributed to assist students from low-income families. The fundraiser would also have covered the costs of after-school snacks for athletic programs, school dances, and gifts for Teacher Appreciation Week.

In addition to what PTA president Rosemary-Roos Whitney described as “really disappointing” for the students who “worked so hard” with the fundraiser, the middle school was unable to pay back its bill to World’s Finest Chocolate, which amounted to nearly $7,000. The company forgave roughly half of the debt, which leaves Stemmers Run with $3,407 to pay.