OVIEDO, Fla. – A former Oviedo High School Athletic Booster Club president was arrested Monday on theft and fraud charges after a months long investigation into her actions.
Two booster club members notified Oviedo police in November of their suspicions about April Bonadonna, 40, taking money from the club funds.
Police met with Bonadonna and several booster club members to address their concerns. The booster members became frustrated with Bonadonna's explanation of where the money went and left the meeting, according to the arrest report. Detectives continued to talk to Bonadonna.
"I pointed out inconsistencies in her story, specifically I asked her about the $3,500 cash she returned on Nov. 16, " the officer wrote.
When asked why the money would have come from her personal bank account Bonadonna said she enjoyed having the "buffer" to pay personal bills and buy groceries, according to the police report.
Bonadonna told police that she knew her actions were wrong and when she left her position as president of the booster club she returned all the money so students could get their scholarships.
The booster club CPA performed an audit of the funds in December and turned those results over to police. An investigation of Bonadonna and her husband's bank accounts showed that over 18 months, Bonadonna deposited $3,865.84 in forged checks, the report shows. Another booster member told police that the signatures on the checks should have been hers and were forged.
Citizens Bank of Oviedo returned more than $5,000 to the booster club, due to the fraudulent signatures, police said.
Seminole County Public School officials told News 6 in an email Tuesday that the district is aware and has been involved in the investigation.
SCPS spokesman Michael Lawrence released this statement:
The district has worked with booster clubs on audits and providing further training and guidelines (best practices) for them to follow to avoid unfortunate instances such as this. Oviedo's booster club for example has gone through such an audit already as a result of this incident and their leadership has further put in place new stringent guidelines moving forward to ensure this doesn't happen again.
Police said that as a result of Bonadonna's alleged actions several Oviedo High School students were not issued their scholarship money at all or in a timely manner.
Past Oviedo booster club president Alan Darty said the booster club eventually paid all outstanding 2016 scholarships and all 2017 scholarships have been paid.
Darty said the arrest was a black eye for the club but now that the investigation is complete the club can move forward and begin a new chapter.
Bonadonna is charged with grand theft, scheming to defraud, forging checks and fraud less than $20,000.