Former Metro School Secretary Accused Of Embezzlement

A metro woman is accused of stealing thousands of dollars during her time as financial secretary of Coronado Heights Elementary School.

The Oklahoma County District Attorney filed seven felony embezzlement charges against 54-year-old Lea Diaz Thursday. The probable cause affidavit said she reportedly took the money over a period of seven years.

According to the court filing, one of Diaz's responsibilities was "to collect payments from parents for after hours child care and other class fund raising projects."

White collar crimes investigators said in the affidavit, she "would deposit the checks properly into the correct bank account," but "was taking the cash payments and keeping them for her own personal gain."

Police said evidence provided showed Diaz embezzled a total of $76,003.46, starting in 2011.

The following statement was released by Putnam City Schools:

Ms. Diaz worked as a financial secretary in the district from July 30, 2007, until her resignation on June 8, 2017. The funds in question are not taxpayer dollars. They are funds raised by the school and by students. While those funds are not taxpayer dollars, they are just as meaningful in terms of providing opportunities and resources for students. We take this matter seriously and have cooperated with Oklahoma City Police as part of their investigation and will continue to do so in any way that we can.

At the time of this report, Diaz had not been arrested.

News 9 visited the address listed for her and also reached out by phone. So far, News 9 has not heard back.