Former PTO treasurer charged with forgery, theft
The former treasurer of the Ben Franklin Home School Council Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) has been charged forgery and theft for allegedly stealing more than $16,000 from the group.
Paul G. Wozniak, 53, of Uniontown allegedly used checks for the group, forging signatures, or made checks out to himself. Uniontown police alleged that there were 89 checks where other PTO members’ names were forged, and another 29 checks where Wozniak either made checks out to himself or to cash, and deposited them into his bank account.
He also allegedly faked bank statements in an attempt to cover up the transactions, police said.
Officer Jamie Holland, who filed the charges, alleged that Wozniak used a homemade First National Bank logo to try and recreate bank statements, altering deposits. The PTO uses First National Bank.
“All of the credit goes to Holland. He was very tenacious in his efforts to bring justice to the Ben Franklin … PTO,” said Lt. Tom Kolencik of Uniontown City Police.
Wozniak was charged with 110 counts of forgery and four counts of theft. According to the affidavit, $16,507.97 in fraudulent transactions were discovered being used by Wozniak from the proceeds of the PTO.
According to the affidavit, police investigated after being contacted on Sept. 23 about a member of the PTO using checks without organization permission. Wozniak, the treasurer of the PTO from September 2009 to September 2014, was in charge of making deposits and paying bills for the organization.
Police were told that only three people had authorization to sign bills, including Wozniak, Trevor Waligura and Rachael Strauser, according to court papers. After reviewing suspicious checks, Waligura and Strauser said the signatures used were not theirs and that they did not consent to the use of their signatures by other parties. There were allegedly 34 checks with Strauser’s forged signature and 55 checks with Waligura’s forged signature.
After executing a search warrant of the First National Bank in Uniontown, police matched deposits made to a Frick Tri-County Federal Credit Union in Wozniak’s name, according to the affidavit. Police said there were 29 checks written to Wozniak or cash which matched deposits, totaling $5,892.41.
Police said they also found three bills in default from Romeos and Sons totaling $53, Sarris Candy totaling $4,342.06, and Scholastic Book Fairs totaling $468.53.
According the affidavit, police also found that bank statements given to the PTO for audit purposes were forged. Wozniak allegedly handmade a First National Bank logo to make the paper appear legitimate, which the bank confirmed was not their creation.
Wozniak is free on a $25,000 bond. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 2 under Magisterial District Judge Michael M. Metros.