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Woman accused of stealing $24,000 lunch money from Joseph Teres School

Police in Ohio's capital city say an officer was served a sandwich containing glass shards at a restaurant, and an assault squad is investigating whether it was intentional. File/Getty Images

WINNIPEG – A 39-year-old woman has been charged with stealing more than $24,000 from a lunch program she helped run at Joseph Teres School in Transcona.

The woman, who was the treasurer of the lunch program, withdrew money from the lunch fund for her own use from December 2013 until October 2014, police allege.

“$24,000 many not seem like a lot, but it is a significant amount when we are talking about a school lunch program,” Winnipeg police Const. Jason Michalyshen said. “The money was being used for personal reasons, whether that being own expenses, paying bills.”

River East Transcona School Division superintendent Kelly Barkman said the parents who run the program at Joseph Teres discovered the problem and reported it to division staff.

“The volunteers found some issues,” Barkman said, explaining the program is run by parents, not the school division. Similar programs run at 27 schools in the division.

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“We told them they should bring it to the police.”

The parents did so and police investigated. The woman is charged with theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000. She was released on a promise to appear in court at a future date.

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