Lisa Betts, Former PTA Treasurer of the Montgomery County Council Parent Teacher Association (MCCPTA), pled guilty Nov. 17 to charges of embezzling over $39,000, almost half of the group’s annual budget.

The MCCPTA is a smaller organization of the Maryland PTA, and during Bett’s tenure, 45 checks were mishandled, Assistant State’s Attorney John Lalos told Bethesda Magazine in a Nov. 17 article. While 30 of the checks were transferred to cash, four were made out directly to Betts herself, and the whereabouts of 11 are unknown.

Betts served as treasurer from July 2016 to March 2017, before charges were pursued in April, when MCCPTA President Paul Geller officially contacted the police and filled out a formal report.
Bett’s trial at the Montgomery County Circuit Court is scheduled for Jan. 17.