This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
An Ogden woman is accused of stealing thousands of dollars that were intended for children with autism.
Rebecca Irene Campos, 31, was charged in 2nd District Court in October with second-degree-felony theft after she allegedly stole more than $5,000 from the Northern Utah Autism Program, a preschool for children with autism, between September 2015 and August 2016.
Campos' attorney Branson West declined to comment on the case Saturday.
At the time of the alleged theft, Campos was the organization's "parent president," according to a Facebook post from the organization Friday, and she was the only person with access to a spending card for an account containing money from private donors, charges say.
Campos had notified a school employee that the account's balance was getting low, which struck the employee as "odd," charges say. The employee requested bank statements, which showed Campos had misused the funds for personal purchases.
When confronted by the employee and another person, Campos allegedly admitted to using the money for herself and her family, citing "financial difficulties," charges state, and she allegedly told them she had quit counting after she'd used $5,000. Two other employees told police they'd seen Campos "purchasing merchandise for her children" on two separate occasions, charges state.
Campos sent an email to the employee who had confronted her, saying she was "obtaining other employment in order to pay restitution to the fund," charges say.
Campos "refused to speak" with an Ogden City police officer about the case, charges state.
Since the school became aware of the situation, it has "taken many steps to ensure that this is something the program doesn't have to endure in the future," the Facebook post said.
A scheduling conference is set for Dec. 15, when Campos will decide whether she wants to waive a preliminary hearing.
Twitter: @mnoblenews