Woman Accused of Stealing from Charity for Disabled Children

A Mentor-on-the-Lake woman is accused of embezzling $18,000 from the charity where she used to work.

Jennifer Summers, 38, was arrested from her home on Fern Drive early Friday morning by Highland Hills and Mentor-on-the-Lake Police.

The arrest capped a 3-month investigation, Highland Hills Police Chief Antonio Stitt said.

Summers is accused of taking the money from the Achievement Centers for Children, a charity that assists children with disabilities, which is headquartered in Highland Hills.

Summers worked at the charity for about two years until she resigned in November 2011. She was its human resources manager and had temporary charge of payroll functions, said the charity's CEO Patricia Nobili.

The investigation of Summers began when Achievement Centers discovered financial irregularities in their payroll while Summers was in charge of it. She is thought to have taken the money over several months, Nobili said.

"As soon as we confirmed the problem, we contacted authorities so they could investigate the matter," Achievement Centers said in a statement. "We are releved our internal checks and balances worked to identify the problem, but are disappointed that a trusted employee may have abused our system for financial gain."

Nobili said Achievement Centers is committed to being a good steward to the money that is given to them.

"We know those contributions come to us because of hard work and generosity," she said.

"This action took precious dollars away from the very children we exist to serve. That's a reprehensible act we can't forgive. We do have insurance for this sort of situation so there is no loss of funds to the agency and the children and programs will not be affected."

Achievement Centers for Children has a budget of $8 million per year, Nobili said, so a loss of $18,000 would have had a material impact. The charity provides therapy, education, family support and recreation services to families that have children with disabilities.