Crime & Safety

Man Sentenced for Embezzling $14K From Daly City School PTA

A man who embezzled more than $14,000 from the parent-teacher association at his son's Daly City school was sentenced Thursday to a stay in county jail, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

Mathew Hidalgo, 28, of Belmont, was sentenced to serve 90 days in jail starting Feb. 1, as well as three years' probation, prosecutors said.

Hidalgo was president of the Margaret Pauline Brown Elementary School PTA between Sept. 27 and Nov. 14, 2012, when it was determined he had embezzled at least $14,000 of PTA funds.

According to the district attorney's office, he wrote checks for "cash" that he withdrew himself and did not deposit money raised from book and ice cream sales.

When confronted by the school's principal, Hidalgo said he was borrowing the money so his car would not be repossessed and to pay the Internal Revenue Service back taxes he owed, prosecutors said.

On June 4, he pleaded no contest to felony embezzlement charges as part of a plea deal, prosecutors said.

As part of his sentence, Hidalgo was also ordered to pay $14,632 in restitution to the school.

The principal of the school, located at 305 Eastmoor Ave., attended the sentencing, according to the district attorney's office.

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