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Rebekah Ann Watson, 46, of Bensalem, surrendered to authorities on Friday, March 24, and was charged with access device fraud, theft by unlawful taking, and theft by failure to make required deposits, township police said in a statement.
The investigation into the Bensalem High School Music Booster Association's treasury was launched on Feb. 8, when the club's president and vice president reported to police that $9,500 in funds were missing from the organization's bank account, the department said.
Booster Association leaders noted "suspicious bank account withdrawals" to a Venmo account named "@Rebekah-Watson-2," and advised police that Rebekah Watson was the name of the club's treasurer.
Police investigators then obtained bank records for the organization going back to January 2021, and audited all deposits and withdrawals between the Boosters account and the Venmo account, the release says.
Detectives said they uncovered "unauthorized cash withdrawals and money transfers" from the Boosters bank account into Watson's Venmo. She used the money, police claim, to fund personal luxuries like a Florida vacation, order DoorDash, shop at Boscov's, and pay her taxes. The audit also revealed that $2,200 raised in a 2022 Boosters fund drive had never been deposited in the group's bank account, authorities wrote.
In total, investigators believe Watson bilked the Boosters Association for $25,569.73 in funds.
Watson was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Michael W. Gallagher on Friday, and was released on $75,000 unsecured bail, court records show. She is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing on April 4.
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