A mother and daughter were arrested this weekend and charged with stealing nearly $100,000 from a non-profit child care center in Avon Park.
Tikia Melissa Robertson, 55, the former director of the Avon Park Community Child Development Center on South Delaney Avenue, and her daughter Wilneisha Akia Ise Gammage, 27, were each charged with grand theft (more than $20,000 dollars but less than $100,000), fraud to obtain more than $50,000, illegal use of credit cards, and uttering a false instrument.
The fraud came to light when a new treasurer for the center examined the books in January of 2023 and noticed suspicious transactions. Robertson resigned in May of 2023 when she was confronted with the questionable transactions as an internal investigation was launched.
The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the suspicions in August of 2023 and began a criminal investigation. The investigation revealed that between January 15, 2020 and Dec. 29 of 2022, Robertson wrote more than 80 fraudulent checks to Gammage for a total of $93,116.02.
In addition, the center’s debit card was used multiple times to pay Gammage’s car payment, car insurance and Verizon account. The debit card transactions totaled $5,754.92 for a total of $98,870.94 stolen from the child care center.
Note: Not all arrests result in convictions. Everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty in court.
