MIAMI, March 2 (UPI) -- Authorities have arrested a Miami police officer they allege defrauded a charity group to help pay for her own child's education.
Vernell Reynolds, who also heads the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association, a group representing black officers, faces charges of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud. Her sister, Vanessa Jones, is also charged, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.
The arrest warrant alleges Reynolds, 45, and Jones defrauded a group called Step Up for Students, a non-profit that donates scholarship money to underprivileged students hoping to go to a private institution or public school in a neighborhood other than their own.
Investigators allege the two women falsified documents so Reynolds' son could obtain almost $7,000 from the non-profit to attend Miami's Cushman School and Monsignor Edward Pace High School, a private Catholic school.
The women falsified a birth certificate to indicate Jones was the child's mother, the warrant alleges.
Reynolds has been suspended from duty while the investigation continues, the Herald reported.
