Philly mom charged with stealing funds that were meant to care for her children

A mother has been charged with stealing thousands of dollars from the Philadelphia School District that was supposed to be used for therapeutic care for her children, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.

During an investigation, it was discovered that Laurel Schullere, of Philadelphia, stole over $61,000 over the course of several years from the Philadelphia School District after she claimed that the money would be used by a company called Missing Pieces.

Investigators said that Missing Pieces was not an operational company but Schullere allegedly lied and told school officials that it would use the money to provide therapeutic care for her two children.

But, instead of sending the money to the company, Schullere allegedly kept it for herself.

Schullere is also accused of never disclosing that she was the owner of Missing Pieces, officials explained.

“This defendant exploited a system designed to help her own children grow and succeed,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “Instead of ensuring the children received the care they needed, the defendant misled the district and pocketed taxpayer dollars.” 

This scheme lasted for nine years, investigators said.

Missing Pieces was found to have two addresses listed – one that turned out to be a church that was unrelated to the services and the other was an abandoned property.

Schullere turned herself into police after she was charged with theft by deception and other related charges.