AG: Mom and daughter bilked nonprofit of 220K

A Cedarbrook woman and her daughter were charged by the state Attorney General's office today with stealing $220,000 from a nonprofit organization.

Harriet Garrett, 63 of Fayette Street near Sedgwick, served as president of Creative Urban Educational Systems (C.U.E.S), which was supposed to use taxpayer money to train low-income residents to become medical assistants.  Instead, Garrett used the money to buy an SUV and pay her daughter, Yvette Gimenez, 40, for classes she never taught, the Attorney General's office said.

C.U.E.S was contracted with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare through the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation. The Attorney General's office said Garrett employed two of her daughters and her husband, which was in violation of the contract.

Authorities said Garrett used money that was in the nonprofit's account to buy a GMC Yukon Denali and pay her husband's back taxes, among other things. Garrett was charged with seven counts of theft and one count of criminal conspiracy. Her daughter was charged with one count of theft and one count of criminal conspiracy. All of the offenses are third-degree felonies and carry a maximum of seven years in prison and $15,000 fine, the Attorney General's office said.