Lara Lee Brown was sentenced to jail for stealing over $50,000 from the United band booster club
On top of that, she’s got to pay back the money she stole. The district attorney, Robert Manzi, mentioned that a lot of band members and their families were at the sentencing. They shared how her actions really hurt the community.
Because of her theft, the band had to cancel a trip to Disney World that was planned for 2023. But, in a twist, the students got invited to join another band’s trip instead. Manzi expressed how disappointing it was for the kids and their families, saying they deserved better than to deal with Brown’s selfishness.
Interestingly, her sentence was longer than what’s usually given for this kind of crime. Normally, it’s about three months to a year, but the judge decided on a tougher penalty. Brown also has to do three years of probation after her jail time.
She was the treasurer from 2019 until late 2022 and had pleaded guilty to several charges, including theft and deception. Apparently, she was using club funds for personal stuff like groceries and even photography gear without any receipts.
Manzi praised the school officials and the band boosters for their hard work with the police to get to the bottom of this. They really wanted to make sure the truth came out for the sake of the students.
