Mar 14, 2013 1 min read

BEDFORD – State police say the treasurer of a Western Pennsylvania Parent Teacher Organization stole $11,000 from the group by forging checks she made out to herself.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for 32-year-old Leanna Gottshall, of Osterburg, who faces a preliminary hearing Wednesday on theft and forgery charges.

Police say the Chestnut Ridge PTO in Bedford County asked for an investigation after learning the group’s bills weren’t being paid and that a large number of checks were being made out to Gottshall.

District Attorney William Higgins says police determined Gottshall forged the PTO president’s name on the checks and that she was “living a lifestyle beyond her means.”

PTO president Kimberly Mickle says, “Not only did she steal from children, but her own as well.”

Gottshall doesn’t have a listed phone number.