Former PTA Chief Accused of Stealing From the Association
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

A former president of a Parent Teacher Association in Queens has been accused of stealing $40,000 of the association’s money.
The defendant, Laura AlQaisi, 38, was charged yesterday by the office of District Attorney Richard Brown with one count of grand larceny, four counts of offering a false instrument for filing, five counts of falsifying business records, and one count of scheme to defraud.
While serving as association president of Gwendolyn Alleyne School (P.S. 152) in Woodside, Ms. AlQaisi allegedly pocketed $23,400 raised by the association through student sales over a four-year period. She also allegedly cashed numerous association checks, totaling $16,600, for personal use.
Ms. AlQaisi was in charge of the association’s finances and allegedly falsified entries to cover her tracks. The discrepancies were discovered during a routine audit of the association’s finances by the Department of Education. Ms. AlQaisi was the PTA president between 1996 and June 2003, the district attorney’s office said. The Web site of the city’s Department of Education lists Ms. AlQaisi, with the spelling Aloqaisi, as the current association president. The alleged thefts occurred between September 1, 1999, and July 1, 2004. Ms. AlQaisi was released on her own recognizance. Her next court date is October 12. If convicted, she faces up to seven years in prison.