WINSTED, Connecticut — A former Winchester Parent Teacher Organization treasurer who now lives in Pittston, Maine, is accused of embezzling $13,000 from the organization.

Jeni Shean, 41, turned herself in to police on Nov. 18 after learning of an outstanding arrest warrant charging her with second-degree larceny — embezzlement, Winsted police said in a release Monday.

Winstead is the urban area of the town of Winchester.

The Winchester Police Department received a complaint from the president of the PTO at the end of May 2017 concerning irregularities with the book keeping records.

Discrepancies with the PTO’s financial records were discovered by the president and later verified through a forensic audit, police said. After an extensive investigation conducted by the Winchester Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division into these allegations that Shean, the organization’s former treasurer, embezzled about $13,000 in funds from the PTO from 2013 through 2016, investigators interviewed Shean at her home in Maine. She denied the allegations.

However, Shean had written numerous checks for “cash” from the PTO’s checking account, police said. An arrest warrant was then obtained.

“We support our PTO and their quest to obtain justice for the loss of funds,” the Winchester Public Schools said in a statement issued Monday afternoon. “As noted in the official police press release, the current PTO was instrumental in forwarding this concern to our local authorities. Their outreach and transparency speaks to their commitment and dedication to the staff, students, and families of the Winchester Public Schools. Our current PTO is held in high regard, and this is no reflection of their work, commitment, or financial integrity.”

Winchester Public Schools is a separate financial entity from the PTO.

Shean was released after posting $10,000 nonsurety bail pending her arraignment before the Superior Court in Torrington.

This story provided courtesy of the Register-Citizen in Torrington, Conn.