Martin Co. School counselor accused of stealing $1 million from out-of-state company

STUART, Fla. (CBS12) — It’s an exclusive story that you’ll only find on CBS12.

A Martin County School counselor is accused of pocketing money from a company nearly a thousand miles away.

Tiffany Jones, of Stuart, is considered a fugitive of justice. She sits in the Martin County Jail accused of stealing $1 million from a non-profit company out of Virginia.

“They had a staff member walk her out of the school and take her into custody without incident. And bring her here to the Martin County Jail,” said Deputy Chief John Budensiek.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said it helped quietly arrested Jones on May 3 at Clark Advance Learning Center where she worked as a counselor. She was wanted for larceny out of Loudoun County, Virginia.

“The law enforcement agency in Virginia tried to call her at least 13 different times, the first time she spoke with them. During that conversation she terminated the call wouldn’t answer the phone and started blocking their calls,” shared Budensiek.

The sheriff’s office there could not comment on this investigation.

However, the arrest warrant issued claims she stole $1 million from a non-profit company Institute for Building Technology And Safety (IBTS).

IBTS connects the private and public sectors for construction, consulting, and more.

In April, the company’s CFO noticed someone accessed his email and intercepted a payment made to a vendor.

That email also changed where that payment would go.

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Ultimately, it was rerouted to go into Jones’ account.

“She knew she was being looked for, she was not overly shocked,” said Budensiek.

Bank records show several transfers, including wire transfers, were made from Jones’ accounts.

At one point she withdrew nearly $70,000 in person at the teller line.

“It was a compelling affidavit there was a lot of evidence in there, a lot of things that did seem to point in her direction,” said Budensiek.

IBTS’s CFO told authorities Jones has no relation to the company or the vendor who the money was originally intended for.

“She’s fighting extradition, so now it’s on the jurisdiction in Virginia to get a governor’s warrant which will then allow her to be extradited back to Virginia to face the charges she’s been charged with,” Budensiek said.

It’s unclear when she will be extradited to Virginia.

A spokesperson for the Clark Advance Learning Center says Jones is on leave until further notice and could not comment further.

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