A former Parent-Teacher Association member in West Haven has been accused of embezzling funds from the PTA account.
Jaime Seneca, 48, faces one count of third-degree larceny, according to court records.
According to the warrant affidavit, the West Haven Police Department began investigating when the man who took over as treasurer of the Alma E. Pagels Elementary School PTA filed a complaint in January. He told police that Seneca, the former PTA president, and the former treasurer refused to provide PTA reports and bank statements that were requested, the warrant affidavit said.
Court records reviewed Thursday indicated that the former treasurer has not been charged.
The new treasurer said Seneca and the former treasurer abruptly resigned in November 2025, according to the warrant affidavit. He told police he had been suspicious of the duo’s alleged lack of transparency dating back to when his children began attending the school in September 2021.
The man said his suspicions came to a head when he discovered that Seneca and the former treasurer were allegedly using a Venmo account tied to the latter’s minor daughter for vendor and donation transactions during the school’s Spring Fest in April 2025, the warrant affidavit said.
While reviewing the financial records that were available, the new treasurer said he found several irregularities, including a $10,000 deposit that was followed by a $4,000 withdrawal, which allegedly had Seneca’s name attached to it, the warrant affidavit said.
According to the warrant affidavit, officials also learned that the elementary school had not paid its annual membership to the Connecticut or national PTA in two years.
In late January, police spoke to a Board of Education employee who alleged that she would regularly ask Seneca for a monthly PTA treasury report and, in return, would receive what she believed were “clearly made up” account balances, the warrant affidavit said. At one point when asking for a report, the employee said Seneca allegedly told her “It’s built on trust,” the warrant affidavit said.
The employee also told investigators that making a $4,000 withdrawal as a PTA president was a “very bizarre” thing to do “unless something wasn’t paid” and should have been, the warrant affidavit said.
Police were able to speak to Seneca by phone on March 11. According to the warrant affidavit, she asked why she had to come to the police department for an interview and inquired as to whether she needed an attorney.
After saying she would call police back, investigators received a letter from a law firm days later stating that Seneca was invoking her right to remain silent, the warrant affidavit said.
The firm did not immediately answer an email from the Courant on Thursday seeking comment.
While further examining the $4,000 withdrawal, police found they found that it had occurred in August 2025, weeks before the first day of school and nearly two months before the PTA’s first meeting of the new school year, the warrant affidavit said.
Police also looked at a handwritten treasurer report reportedly given to the Board of Education from Seneca, which indicated the PTA account only had about $989 in it, the warrant affidavit said. During the investigation, police found that at one point the account had well over $6,000 in it.
Investigators also met with the PTA secretary who confirmed that there was no “logical reason” that the $4,000 withdrawal should have been made before the school year started, according to the warrant affidavit.
According to court records, Seneca was arrested by West Haven police in July. She is free on a promise to appear and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 23.