A former partner in a Minersville day care is accused of stealing $5,000 from the bank account of that business.
According to an affidavit filed with District Magistrate David Plachko by Minersville Sgt. Jeff Bowers, Kay Marie Carvajal, 27, allegedly transferred $5,000 from the business account of K&E Friends Forever Day Care LLC on Jan. 16 to her 5-year-old daughter’s account and then into her own account.
Both the business account for the daycare and Carvajal’s account are at CACL Federal Credit Union in Pottsville.
The current owner of the K&E daycare business, Emily Taylor, says she was alerted to the money transfer soon after it happened and suspected it was her former business partner, Carvajal.
Taylor says Carvajal is the only person who had access to that account in the past. However, the two partners dissolved their business relationship back in August 2021, according to the affidavit.
When dissolving the relationship, Carvajal allegedly agreed that she was not owed any money and also was not responsible for any bills or liabilities from K&E Friends Forever Daycare.
Carvajal is still technically an account holder with the business, however, according to Taylor. She told Bowers that in order to remove her name from the account, Taylor needed Carvajal to sign off on that. That apparently never happened.
On Jan. 24, Taylor says she had an attorney send a Certified letter to Carvajal notifying her that she knew it was her who had removed the $5,000 from the business account. That letter allegedly offered Carvajal an opportunity to escape any potential criminal charges if she had just returned the money.
Carvajal allegedly signed for the Certified letter but never responded, Taylor says.
On Wednesday, Bowers says he obtained a search warrant for bank records related to this case. His affidavit indicates that $5,000 was withdrawn from the daycare’s account and transferred to an account held by Carvajal’s daughter. The money was then moved to Carvajal’s own account.
Carvajal is now facing a trio of third-degree felonies for not returning the money, as was allegedly requested in that Certified letter earlier this year: Access Device Fraud, Theft, and Receiving Stolen Property.
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