The former treasurer for PS 29’s parent association is facing more than just a call to the principal’s office after she allegedly embezzled thousands of dollars from the group last fall.
Cops said on Monday that 43-year-old Providence Hogan wrote two unaccounted checks worth a total of $5,500 in the PTA’s budget of the Cobble Hill school late last year — but that sum could be the tip of Hogan’s thieving iceberg, as cops have confirmed other alleged thefts.
About 100 parents stormed the Henry Street building on Monday night, demanding to know how much of their hard-earned bake sale cash had been pilfered. But PTA officials — citing an ongoing investigation — gave little information except the new treasurer found a “gap” in the group’s tax return this semester.
“I’m disappointed,” said Dominik Balsamo, who regularly picks his grandkids up from kindergarten. “You trust in someone and they take the money you put toward your kid’s future.”
Hogan is a licensed childbirth assistant at her shop, Providence Day Spa on Atlantic Avenue and Smith Street. She had worked as treasurer for the parent group for at least three years, and at some point allegedly wrote at least two checks to herself — though cops said that they’re poring over receipts to see exactly how much Hogan swiped.
Cops also noted that reports of the group losing up to $100,000, first reported in the Daily News, are “wildly and completely inaccurate.”
The newspaper also reported that Hogan spent the money on “fertility treatments” — possibly at her own business.
It’s unclear how Hogan allegedly pulled it off, but it’s certain that the parents oversaw — or failed to oversee — Hogan’s actions and the group’s budget, which is not subject to mandatory city audits. Parents said on Monday that they would form an audit committee soon.
“This is a sad day for us,” said PS 29 Principal Melanie Woods. “In 10 years of seen this community built on trust and relationships. This is a tough time we’re going through, but we have to get out of it together.”
Hogan has not been arrested while cops continue gathering evidence. Some teachers at the meeting on Monday said through tears that they don’t know yet how to deal with Hogan’s young daughter, who didn’t come to school this week.