Former president of Queen Creek-area charter school's parent teacher network arrested in theft

A former president of the parent teacher network at EDUPRIZE, a Queen Creek-area charter school, has been arrested.

Jocelyn Carranza is accused of charging tens of thousands of dollars in personal transactions to the organization’s account.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said Carranza was arrested outside the school late last week. It comes after an investigation found she made more than $90,000 in unauthorized, fraudulent charges.

Jayme Accalia is parent teacher network's former events coordinator. She said Carranza used to control the group’s bank account.

“There’s transactions where she’s taking out thousands of dollars and sending ‘em to family members," Accalia said. "There’s like 200 DoorDash transactions over one year. All these huge payments to Enterprise, which we’ve never rented vehicles.”

Some teachers at the campus located in San Tan Valley paid for things out of pocket, expecting to be reimbursed by the group and were never compensated.

“There's so many people that their kids lost out on opportunities and there's teachers that provided for their classrooms and for all these trips and they're just — they're just out," Accalia said.

The group has since elected all new leadership and changed its name. The new PTO posted a statement about the arrest on Facebook, writing in part: "We remain committed to moving forward, continuing to rebuild trust, and supporting our students, teachers and families."

EDUPRIZE has not responded to a request for comment.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This headline and story have been modified to clarify the location of the school.