SPENCER - Police have arrested the former president of a school parent organization after she allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars from various fundraisers and used the money to pay her bills, to get a tattoo and to shower her children with gifts.

Michelle R. Cabana, 48, of 29 Pleasant St., Spencer, was a member of the Parents at Wire Village School (PAWS) and Parents at Lake Street School (PALS) and her name appeared on bank signature cards in late 2013, court documents show. The Lake Street School was closed last year in a consolidation by the school department.

Police said they believe she misused the accounts for about two years until she was asked to return some items and funds to the organizations and did not.

In July, police were contacted by a member of PAWS, who was concerned because it appeared some funds from the group had been “misappropriated.” Spencer police Detective James J. Murray began investigating, gathering information from banks, area merchants and the town of Spencer, where money from the account allegedly was used to pay Ms. Cabana’s water bill of more than $800.

Investigators also found evidence that Ms. Cabana paid her attorney and a bankruptcy resolution company from the group’s account, the court document states.

Police said some of the purchases she made were legitimate and were for things used by the organization, but the legitimate purchases were “far and few between.”

During the investigation, police said, they found the account had been used on Dec. 17, 2013, for a $163 purchase from the American Girl doll company. They also discovered a post on Ms. Cabana’s Facebook page depicting her daughter holding an American Girl doll on Christmas day that year. Police found the doll when they executed a search warrant but chose not to collect it as evidence because it had been given to a child, Police Chief David B. Darrin said.

In another social media post, police noted that Ms. Cabana was depicted showing off a new tattoo listing the names of her children and a rose on the same day the PAWS debit card had been used to withdraw funds at Miraculous Creations, a Worcester tattoo shop. A witness who was with Ms. Cabana the day she got the tattoo said Ms. Cabana offered to pay for her to get inked that day, as well, but she declined, a police report states.

The 20-page police report details purchases of a Toshiba computer, turf builder and topsoil, pet items including cat food, beds and litter, and bakeware. Ms. Cabana's Facebook page is filled with photographs of specialty cakes she makes. Ms. Cabana’s ex-husband told police that she often bought the children lavish gifts and threw them parties despite her financial problems, the report states.

When police questioned Ms. Cabana, she allegedly admitted she had used some of the group’s funds for her own purchases but was paying back the accounts, a report states. Still, police said they could not find evidence to show that payments were being made and discovered Ms. Cabana still had at her home many checks written months earlier for fundraisers.

Detective Murray said in his report that it appears she kept the checks for months, planning to deposit them later “to confuse deposits made in furtherance of her scheme.”

New PAWS officers assisted police in determining which purchases were likely fraudulent and helped them reconcile the bank statements, spending countless hours working on the case with investigators, Chief Darrin said.

He praised Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early’s staff and Spencer police Sgts. Michael Befford and Norman Hodgerney Jr. and Officers Christopher Inzerillo and Steven LeBrun who also worked on the investigation.

The chief said the investigation was time consuming and intricate because each transaction had to be analyzed to determine whether it was legitimate.

Police said Ms. Cabana also kept items that were to be handed out as prizes to children who took part in the fundraisers. She allegedly kept a stash of cash and many of the prize items at her home, and police seized those items, which included gift cards, when they went to her house with a search warrant in August.

Ms. Cabana was arrested Wednesday and charged with six counts of larceny of more than $250 by a single scheme. She was released on personal recognizance and is scheduled to be back in court in January.

Detective Murray said police cannot say with certainty how much money Ms. Cabana may have taken but estimated it could be in the tens of thousands of dollars and she may face additional charges as they continue their investigation.

Investigators said they believe Ms. Cabana under-reported the amounts made during fundraisers and held on to cash, while depositing some checks and keeping others. They believe she commingled funds from the PAWS and PALS accounts.

Police said the money raised from PAWS and PALS was supposed to be used for school activities, holiday events, materials, activities, snacks and field trips for the schoolchildren.

Chief Darrin said organizations that do fundraising should have a system of checks and balances, where more than one person is responsible for monitoring bank accounts and completing transactions.