SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A woman from Springfield is accused of stealing funds from the Wanda Gray Elementary School Parent-Teacher Associationand Girl Scouts Troop 70472. Prosecutors charged Lyndsay Joy-Peck with two counts of stealing on Thursday after a four-week investigation by the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.
Joy-Peck was a leader for the troop and a vice president for the PTA. She has two children at Wanda Gray, which is south of Springfield at the corner of Plainview Road at Cox Road. The school's web site shows the position of PTA vice president is now vacant.
Leaders of the PTA and Girl Scouts called the sheriff’s department in early April about missing funds. Probable cause statements used as the basis of the charges say Girl Scouts officials first confronted Joy-Peck last November. An audit by the Girl Scouts found Joy-Peck bought $2,566.16 worth of personal goods at several stores. An audit of PTA accounts found Joy-Peck spent $1,934.87 from that group for personal items.
A detective wrote in the probable cause statements that Joy-Peck repaid some of the funds to the Girl Scouts but still owes $609.94. After Girl Scouts officials confronted her, the probable cause statement says, she wrote checks to the Girl Scouts with a personal check and with a check from the PTA.
The detective interviewed Joy-Peck on April 6. He said she admitted what she did and said she did it because she didn’t want her husband to be mad about how much she was spending. She said, once the thefts started, things spiraled out of control.
“Joy-Peck stated she couldn't give a real reason why she did it, but it was probably greed. She further advised it was a little of keeping up with the (Joneses),” the detective wrote.
If Joy-Peck is convicted, she could get a seven-year prison sentence for each count. In the alternative, she could also be fined up to $5,000 for each count and ordered to make restitution.
Joy-Peck appeared in court on the charges on Thursday and was released on her own recognizance. A condition of her release is that she not hold a position as an employee or volunteer where she has to handle or be responsible for money. She's due back in court on July 9 for a preliminary hearing.
