FAYETTEVILLE -- The former treasurer of the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative pleaded not guilty in Washington County Circuit Court on Friday to charges she wrote thousands of dollars worth of checks to herself from the cooperative's account over an eight-year period.
Dianne Gloria Parrish, 61, of Springdale is charged with theft of property and second-degree forgery, both felonies.
Parrish was given an initial court date of Oct. 25 before Washington County Circuit Judge Joanna Taylor.
The cooperative became suspicious of Parrish after a September audit revealed "a large amount of discrepancies concerning checks made out by the treasurer," according to a probable cause affidavit. Cooperative officials forwarded the results of the audit to the Farmington Police Department in December.
The audit identified 75 unauthorized checks totaling roughly $30,325 had been deposited into Parrish's personal account between Feb. 2, 2010, and May 12, 2015. Parrish also wrote nine checks to her husband, Tony Parrish, totaling $5,540, and paid her 2013 personal property taxes with a fraudulent check from the cooperative, according to the affidavit.
Other fraudulent checks "going back years further" couldn't be documented due to the unavailability of records, which the cooperative only keeps for five years, according to the affidavit.
Parrish also is accused of using the cooperative's account to purchase lumber, paint, and kitchen and bathroom merchandise from Home Depot.
Parrish retired at the end of September after being suspended for about three weeks, according to Charles Cuddney, director of the cooperative. Parrish worked at the cooperative about 20 years, Cuddney said.
She was released from the Washington County jail after posting a partial bond of $5,000.
NW News on 08/27/2016