Yucca Valley High School teacher arrested for suspected embezzlement

A Yucca Valley High School teacher was arrested for investigation into embezzling funds from the school’s Parent Teacher Organization.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said that on June 18, a member of the Yucca Valley High School Parent Teacher Organization, or PTO, reported unauthorized withdrawals from the organization’s account. PTOs are independent, non-profit organizations that work closely with schools, but are not directly run by school or district staff.

The Sheriff’s Department’s investigation identified Ariana Rodriguez, a 34 year-old resident of Yucca Valley as the suspect. Rodriguez works as a teacher at Yucca Valley High School and oversees the PTO account. The Sheriff’s Department says that Rodriguez embezzled more $8,500 from the account through unauthorized transactions over a two-year period.

On Wednesday (July 2) at approximately 10:00 a.m., Sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant at Rodriguez’ home in the 7600 block of Sage Ave in Yucca Valley and took her into custody.

Ariana Rodriguez was arrested for investigation into embezzlement and was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail on $30,000 bail. She has been placed on administrative leave by the Morongo Unified School District, who says that they are cooperating with the Sheriff’s investigation.