Horry County after-school program director charged with embezzlement

A Myrtle Beach woman was arrested Friday after an audit allegedly revealed funds were embezzled from an after-school program at Forestbrook Elementary School, according to an Horry County police report.

Yvonne Campbell, 51, is charged with embezzlement of public funds, value $5,000 or more, according to J. Reuben Long Detention Center records.

Campbell is listed as program director of an after-school program called “KidPower,” which offers childcare for students from 2:30 to 6 p.m. with rates ranging from $12 to $60, according to the Forestbrook Elementary School website.

An audit was performed in September showing money was missing from deposits for the after-school program, police said.

After further investigating, officials said they believed Campbell had not been depositing any cash payments for the program over the past five years, but only checks made out to the program, authorities said.

According to the report, accounting documents were provided to police that substantiated the school’s findings.

Campbell had been an employee with Forestbrook Elementary School’s after-school program since November 1999. She was placed on administrative leave Sept. 1 when the investigation began and is still on leave, according to Teal Harding, Horry County schools spokeswoman.

These after-school programs run successfully for many Horry County schools, and provide a place where students do homework, have a snack, and enjoy structured play while parents are finishing up their work days, Harding said.

“There’s a lot of places where these programs run really well. We certainly don’t want a negative perception to trickle over to those programs from this,” Harding said.

Campbell was booked at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on Friday morning and released on $30,000 later Friday evening, jail records show.

This story was originally published October 21, 2015 at 8:53 AM with the headline "Horry County after-school program director charged with embezzlement."