Miami Officer Charged In Charity Fraud
MIAMI - (CBS4) - A Miami police officer was trusted to the head of a charity that donated scholarships for underprivileged children.
But state prosecutors say 45-year-old Vernell Reynolds misused that trust by shuffling funds to benefit her own son's education.
Reynolds was charged with using $7,000 from the non-profit known as Step Up for Students to send her own son to Miami's Cushman School and the private Catholic school, Monsignor Edward Pace High School.
In addition, Reynolds falsified a birth certificate fraudulently naming the boy's aunt Vanessa Jones as his mother.
On Wednesday, Reynolds faced a bond court judge who released her on pre-trial detention. She was charged with organized fraud and three counts of grand theft third-degree. Jones also faces similar charges.
Reynolds was suspended after allegations surfaced and an internal investigation was launched, CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald reported.
She has since been suspended from duty.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
