Retired school secretary charged
El Toro High parents say $183,000 meant to support sports teams went missing.
By SAM MILLER
The Orange County Register
A former secretary at El Toro High has been charged with stealing more than $150,000 that had been collected through in athletics fees, donations and parents' and students' fund-raising efforts.
According to a felony complaint filed by the District Attorney, Carlotta McCarthy, 56, of Mission Viejo, took money from the El Toro High athletic boosters while working as a secretary in the athletics department. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
School officials hope the charges will speed up the district's insurance claim, which is necessary for reimbursing the parent groups.
McCarthy declined to comment Wednesday.
"She's not guilty," said Chad Lewin, McCarthy's attorney. "That's it. She's not guilty." He declined to comment further.
McCarthy is free on $50,000 bail, said Farrah Emami of the Orange County District Attorney's Office. An arraignment will take place in coming weeks.
McCarthy was the secretary of the athletics department at El Toro High, and the custodian of an account used by about 20 booster clubs. When she retired during the 2005-06 school year, the figures she had kept didn't add up, said Deputy District Attorney Douglas Brannan.
Saddleback Valley Unified hired a fraud examiner, who determined approximately $183,000 was missing from the account.
The boosters' account had been audited, said Frank Manzo, business services director for SVUSD.
"But the degree to which the audit has taken place, the thoroughness, the accuracy, all the information – perhaps it was manipulated, and that's difficult to say," he said. "If you put yourself in a criminal mind-set, if you want to misrepresent something, you would."
The boosters didn't carry insurance, but Manzo said the district's insurance should cover the missing funds.
"Since the clubs entrusted that money to the district, essentially we were operating on the club's behalf," he said. "Now that an arrest has been made … it shows we had a valid claim and will hopefully help move this along through the claims process."
He said he didn't know whether any of the stolen money could we recovered.
The aquatics boosters sued SVUSD in April for the $48,000 the group says it lost. SVUSD is expected to file a response this month.
A number of groups have raised fees and expanded fund-raising efforts to try replace the funds. Aquatics boosters' fees were up about $75 per student, to $375. Football boosters held a casino night, and sold pizza from a booth during concerts at Verizon Amphitheater.
"There should always be a check and balance, and this is what happens when you don't have a check and balance," said Cindy Rachman, a mother with kids in the wrestling, football, lacrosse and golf programs.
