Day care director Shadia Ross accused of stealing thousands from business

Police say a Gwinnett County day care co-director stole nearly $11,000 from the business.

Snellville police said while Shadia Ross, 23, worked as a co-director of the Legacy Academy day care, she welcomed cash payments from parents.

"If they handed her cash, she would either take some or all of that money and not document it," explained Snellville Police Chief Roy Whitehead.

Whitehead showed Channel 2's Craig Lucie a stack of financial documents, saying they've been investigating Ross since December after the day care owners realized their numbers were not adding up.

Legacy Academy

"So far it's documented at $10,800, but it could well be more when everything is completed. The number I heard was going to be around $16,000," Whitehead said.

Ross has since bonded out of the Gwinnett County Jail. No one answered the door at her Stone Mountain home when Lucie showed up for a comment.

One Legacy Academy parent said he had no idea the former co-director was under investigation for embezzlement.

"If that's true, it's unacceptable," parent Ainsley Clarke said.

Legacy Academy's website said Ross is a Spelman College graduate pursuing her Masters of Education.