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Husband, wife accused of cleaning out elementary PTA’s account

HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) – An investigation into a husband and wife’s dealings with a Hutto elementary school’s parent teacher association began when a bank alerted board members that the PTA’s account balance was in the red.

Board members for the Ray Elementary School PTA contacted police on June 29 to report about $16,000 stolen from the account.

A+ Federal Credit Union called one of the members concerning suspicious activity on the account after checks written by Natalie Hudson-Rapp, 40, and Clinton Rapp, 46, were returned.

The board member told a Hutto police officer that the couple had withdrawn more than $17,000 at various credit union locations and the member had copies of the checks cashed from December 2016 to June 26, 2017.

According to court documents, only three people were authorized to sign checks for the PTA account, including Hudson-Rapp. However, all expenditures must be approved by the board and two signatures are required on the check.

Police say a total of 31 checks were issued and cashed by the couple and, according to the reporting board member, none of the checks were authorized by the PTA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Board members were interviewed by police and only one said she had pre-signed checks in case she was unavailable, but a number of the checks with the member’s name were also forged, the arrest affidavit continues.

A board member said in the middle of December 2016, the checkbook for the PTA account was given to Hudson-Rapp to take care of the day-to-day operations of the PTA. At regular meetings, members say Hudson-Rapp would say the balance in the account was around $17,000 and no one ever questioned that amount until they received the call from the bank.

On Nov. 1, 2017, a Hutto police detective called the couple because they said they were unable to meet in person due to their work schedules. Hudson-Rapp allegedly told the detective that it was normal for her to forge other people’s signatures on the PTA checks because two signatures were required. She claimed to have purchased items for Ray Elementary classrooms on Amazon.com and reimbursed her husband for those purchases.

The detective said Hudson-Rapp was unable to prove she purchased classroom items from Amazon.com. Hudson-Rapp is charged with theft and forgery, with bond set at $20,000. Her husband is charged with theft, with bond set at $7,500. According to online records, both remain in the Williamson County Jail as of 6 p.m. Friday.