A Pennsylvania school board member has been arrested and charged with stealing more than $50,000 from her employer, allegedly using the money to fund a Bahamas holiday and pay for a Bar Mitzvah event. Jennifer Rivera, 41, a member of the Lower Merion School District Board of Directors, was reported to police after her employer, law firm marketing agency SMB, identified suspicious spending on her company credit card dating back to September 2024. The case is notable given Rivera's public standing as a recently elected school official who had been praised for her budget management skills.

Prosecutors say Rivera spent more than $25,000 on a family and friends' holiday, $1,339 on videography for a friend's son's Bar Mitzvah, and $25,596.68 on Amazon purchases including clothing and bathroom accessories, all charged to her employer's account. She also used over $9,000 in company American Express points to book a future Bahamas trip, bringing the total alleged theft to $50,243.31. Rivera faces four counts of theft by deception, receiving stolen property and access device fraud, all third-degree felonies; she was elected to the school board last November and has since lost her job after requesting termination during the investigation.