Santa Clarita woman accused of embezzling from Girl Scouts and cancer organization

A Santa Clarita woman was arrested Monday on suspicion of embezzling thousands of dollars from the Girl Scouts and a cancer organization, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

Patricia Cascione, who for 20 years served as a volunteer treasurer for several Girl Scout groups, is accused of embezzling more than $58,000 from multiple bank accounts belonging to the Girl Scouts of the USA troops and a Santa Clarita Girl Scouts service unit. She is also accused of theft by false pretense of more than $30,000 while she was CFO of the Beverly Hills Cancer Center.

A little over a year ago, a local Girl Scouts group alerted officials that they suspected the woman was stealing from them. The investigation “got bigger after that,” said David Chambers, a sergeant with the department’s Fraud and Cyber Crime bureau.

Cascione, 52, was booked Monday at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station on suspicion of grand theft and was released on $200,000 bail. After her arrest, law enforcement served a search warrant at her home, where they said they found additional evidence of theft, including financial records like bank statements.

Officials said they believe the thefts occurred in the last five years.

Cascione was also responsible for fundraising for several other organizations in the Santa Clarita Valley and investigators believe there may be other victims. Her three children — who are high school age or older — had been involved in youth groups, and officers suspect she may have embezzled funds from those groups, Chambers said.

The woman wasn’t living a lavish lifestyle, and officials believe she was having financial difficulties, Chambers said.

Anyone with information about the suspect and the thefts can call the Sheriff’s Department at (661) 471-1534.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra