Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Fraud and Cybercrimes Bureau detectives are seeking other possible victims of a Santa Clarita Valley woman arrested Monday on suspicion of embezzling more than $88,000 from a number of non-profit organizations.
Detectives arrested Patricia Cascione at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff Station Monday on charges of grand theft and theft by false pretense of more than $88,000 in funds allegedly stolen from SCV Girl Scout troops and the Beverly Hills Cancer Center, according to an LASD news release.
“She’s also a very prominent person in the Santa Clarita Valley, part of a lot of youth activities and programs, and we’re seeing if there’s anything suspicious about those cases,” said Sgt. David Chambers of the Fraud and Cybercrimes Bureau.
“That’s one of the reasons we have this press release and her picture going out,” Chambers said. “We want people to see if they know this person, and if she’s part of their organization, maybe they should look at their books and give us a call if there’s any suspicious activity.”
Over the past 20 years, Cascione was entrusted as the treasurer for multiple Girl Scouts of the USA Troops in addition to a local Girl Scouts Service Unit in Santa Clarita.
Cascione’s arrest culminates a probe that began 15 months ago.
“The Girl Scouts came to the Santa Clarita station and filed a report,” Chambers said.
Fraud and Cyber Crimes Bureau detectives initiated a criminal investigation that involved multiple search warrants and extensive evidence-gathering.
Based on the evidence, detectives believed that during the past five years, Cascione allegedly embezzled more than $58,000 from several Girl Scout troops and Service Unit bank accounts she controlled.
During the investigation, detectives also determined that Cascione, while CFO of the Beverly Hills Cancer Center, allegedly committed theft by false pretense of more than $30,000.
Following Cascione’s arrest Monday, detectives served a search warrant at her residence and recovered additional evidence.
“It was documentation that confirmed some of the accounts we already had,” Chambers said. “We basically knew everything before we did the search warrant. We had most of the documents we needed from the banks, the Girl Scouts. But when you go into the house and actually see the documents sitting basically on a table, now you know that she knew about it because it’s in her house. It’s just another nail in the coffin, so to speak.”
While Cascione was arrested at the SCV Sheriff’s Station, a problem at the jail there prompted deputies to take her to the LASD’s Crescenta Valley Station for booking, Chambers said.
“She was booked, and then she bonded out,” Chambers said. He did not know the bail amount.
Cascione’s arraignment has not yet been scheduled, but all the court hearings in the case would be held at the county Superior Court in San Fernando, he said.
Chambers requested that anyone with questions or further information about this case contact him at 661-471-1534.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.
1 Comment
Disgusting Human