A Frederick County woman was charged with embezzling thousands from parent-teacher organizations (PTO) and a homeowners association.
Frederick County Woman Indicted for Theft
A 44-year-old Frederick County woman named Shawn Marie Bianco was indicted for allegedly stealing funds from two parent-teacher organizations at Bass-Hoover Elementary School and Robert E. Aylor Middle School. The woman was also charged with embezzling money from a Georgetowne Court Homeowners Association.
Bianco is from the 100 block of Georgetowne Court in Stephens City. She is the former president of the Bass-Hoover Elementary School PTO. A grand jury indicted her for 25 charges of embezzlement.
Theft from Two PTOs
Catherine Young, Bass-Hoover’s PTO president, reported that a $18,000 certificate of deposit (COD) was missing last February. A search warrant was filed in Frederick County Court, and Bianco confessed to stealing $18,000 while she was in her position.
Moreover, she admitted to the PTO treasurer that she had taken the money four years ago and that it was now gone. Bianco allegedly told the treasurer she took the money out to pay for her house because the bank would foreclose the home. Her child needed braces, and her mother was sick.
At the time, Bianco was the PTO president at the Robert E. Aylor Middle School, where it was unveiled that $4,000 in the PTO’s account was also missing. The warrant states that county investigators spoke with Aylor Middle School principal David Rudy on February 11.
The warrant was issued for Bianco’s townhome. It resulted in confiscated computers and several miscellaneous papers from the Aylor and Bass-Hoover PTOs, Sherando High School Warriors Club, Georgetowne Court Homeowners Association, Disney World Vacation, and banking documents.
Georgetowne HOA Theft
It is currently unclear how much Bianco allegedly stole from the Georgetowne Court HOA. According to Frederick County Sheriff’s Office Captain John Helfin, the investigations have been ongoing for over a year. He says it takes so long because they must go through several bank records. Moreover, the investigation was stalled because of numerous victim interviews and the amount of money taken. Helfin could not reveal how much the Frederick County woman allegedly stole, but he commented that it had gone over $20,000.
