Woman accused of embezzling $134,000 from Boys and Girls Clubs of La Habra

LA HABRA — A former executive with the Boys and Girls Club of La Habra was behind bars Friday on suspicion of embezzling $134,000 from the organization.
Lynette Rojas, 37, of La Habra is due to be arraigned Monday in Orange County Superior Court, Orange County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Farrah Emami said.
As an executive assistant with the Boys and Girls Club of La Habra, Rojas was responsible for both payroll funds and a the organization’s finances, Emami said.
She’s accused of overpaying herself, as well as stealing cash deposits between May 2008 and June 2010. She began working for the Boys and Girls Club in April 2008.
“She really violated her position of trust and authority by stealing over $100,000 from these needy children,” Emami said.
La Habra police arrested Rojas Thursday, according to officials and sheriff’s booking records.
She is charged with a felony count of grand theft by embezzlement and 24 counts of computer fraud, along with special allegations of stealing more than $100,000, aggravated white collar crime over $100,000, and property damage over $65,000, Orange County District Attorney’s officials said in a written statement.
If convicted as charged, she faces up to 20 years in state prison.
Boys and Girls Clubs of La Habra Board of Directors President Nancy Zinberg said she and her staff were “shocked” to learn of the allegations.
“It’s just a real sorry state of affairs,” she said. “Nobody likes to be taken advantage of, especially when you’re taking advantage of charitable funds.”
Rojas was fired from her position as soon as authorities launched their investigation in September, Zinberg said.
When she appears in court Monday, officials will request a judge set her bail at $135,000, roughly equal to the amount allegedly stolen, Emami explained.
“Rojas must prove the money is from a legal and legitimate source before posting bond,” according to the D.A.’s statement.
Rojas is accused of stealing nearly $25,000 by giving herself additional unauthorized pay, and another $109,000 that she was supposed to deposit into the organization’s bank account, officials said.
“She is accused of attempting to hide her theft by altering the organization’s cash deposit paperwork,” the D.A.’s statement said. “The theft was discovered when it was determined that the cash deposit paperwork completed by Rojas was significantly more than the deposit receipts from the bank.”
The case is being prosecuted by the D.A.’s Major Fraud Unit.
No programs at the Boys and Girls Clubs as La Habra were curtailed due to the alleged theft, Zinberg said, but “It certainly made us more careful.”
“It was frightening when it happened,” she said, “but everybody worked together, staff and board, to clean up the mess.”
An auction helped recoup some of the missing funds, she said, while officials expect insurance policies to help as replace some of the missing cash as well.
To make a donation, or for more information on the Boys and Girls Clubs of La Habra, visit www.ourchildrensfuture.org, or contact the organization at 562-694-1805.