A former Walden Grove High School cheerleading coach was indicted on four felony counts after an Arizona Auditor General investigation found more than $12,000 in cheer funds were directed to her personal bank account.
Denise Montano, also known as Denise Cook, was indicted Aug. 17 after the Arizona Attorney General’s Office presented evidence from the investigation to a state grand jury, according to an Auditor General Report released Friday, Oct. 2.
The charges are related to theft, fraudulent schemes and practices, and forgery.
Montano started working for Sahuarita Unified School District in 2021 as a counseling office secretary and registrar at Walden Grove High School, according to the report. She became the school’s head cheerleading coach in January 2023 and was responsible for receiving and disbursing money for the cheer team.
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The Auditor General’s investigation looked at transactions from August through December 2023.
Montano directed $12,094 in cheerleading fees and fundraising proceeds into her personal bank account from August through October of that fall, the report says.
Of that amount, it says $7,768 was spent on personal expenses, including a car payment, rent and a trip to Las Vegas.
The remaining $4,326 was used for cheer team expenses, the report says.
Most of the money was collected through a Venmo account that Montano told parents belonged to the cheer team, the report says. The account was connected to her personal bank account.
She also directed three Zelle payments totaling $2,044 and two checks totaling $498 into her personal account, the report says.
District officials discovered the issue after Montano resigned as head coach on Nov. 27, 2023. Parents reported concerns about how the money was handled on Nov. 30, 2023, according to a previous KOLD news story. A district official looking into the cheer team’s financial records found that no cheer fees or fundraising proceeds had been deposited with the district for the 2023-2024 school year.
Montano provided the district with documentation indicating she owed $853 to the cheer team. She actually owed $7,768, according to the Auditor General, who found that the two documents she provided appeared to be forged to conceal the transactions.
Sahuarita Unified officials told the Auditor General that they have since strengthened financial controls, according to the document. The district implemented a single platform for parent communications, assigned an employee to monitor messages for unauthorized payment methods, and updated its policies and training to prohibit employees from using private accounts or peer-to-peer payment applications for district business.
The Auditor General also recommended additional annual training, clear communication with parents about approved payment methods, and more consistent monitoring of school activity and athletic accounts.
The Walden Grove High School logo.
