VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF
NEWS STORY
GEOFF DEAN, SHERIFF
www.VCSD.org
Nature of Incident: Felony Grand Theft Embezzlement
Report Number: RB# 17-168230
Location: Montessori School of Ojai, CA
Date & Time: January of 2017 through October of 2017
Unit(s) Responsible: Ojai Patrol and Ojai Station Detectives
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
(S) Christina Tracy Oak View 28
Narrative:
On 11/03/2017, the Director of Montessori School of Ojai, reported to the Ojai Police Station that the school’s office manager, (A) Christina Tracy, had committed the crime of Embezzlement (487 PC) by fraudulently using the school’s credit cards.
The director stated that on 10/06/2017, the school’s financial administrator began researching the school’s financial records reference unauthorized credit cards transaction. As the administrator compared the credit card transactions to their financial records, she noticed numerous transactions that had nothing to do with school purchases. The financial administrator confronted Tracy, who admitted to using the school’s credit cards to make personal purchases, without the school’s authorization.
After researching the school’s credit card statements, the financial administrator believed Tracy had used the school’s credit cards to make over $25,000 in fraudulent purchases
After being terminated by the school, Tracy and her Attorney Ryan Blatz agreed to meet Ojai Detectives several times at the Ojai Police Station about the purchases. Tracy immediately admitted to making fraudulent purchases, but did not believe it was the dollar amount that the financial administrator had submitted. After contacting multiple businesses listed in the credit card statement and obtaining videos or receipts (including Amazon’s documents obtained through a search warrant), Tracy admitted to making fraudulent purchases totaling $19,102.89. Tracy continued to deny making the remaining $2,975.96 in purchases. She stated most of the purchases were household items needed to provide for her children, since her separated husband was unemployed and she was not making more money at the school than what was required to pay for her children’s school tuition. Tracy offered to reimburse the school for all that she fraudulently charged.
On 04/19/2018, Tracy turned herself in to be arrested and booked at the Pretrial Detention Facility for 487(a) PC – Grand Theft Embezzlement.
Prepared by: Detective A. Regan
News Release Date: April 19, 2018
Media Follow-Up Contact: Detective A. Regan 805-477-7038 [email protected]
Approved by: Captain Jim Fryhoff
