Tampa teacher accused of stealing nearly $75K from Alessi Bakery: Affidavit

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Published  March 14, 2025 1:36pm EDT
FOX 13 News
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The Brief

    • Tampa police say Rosa Harwell stole $74,520.97 from Alessi Bakery, where she worked weekend shifts.
    • Harwell, who's also a math teacher at Tampa Prep, is accused of creating more than 500 fraudulent cash refunds between March 2020 and February 2025.
    • Harwell faces more than 50 charges and is being held without bond in the Hillsborough County Jail.

TAMPA, Fla. - A teacher at Tampa Prep faces a long list of charges after investigators say she embezzled nearly $75,000 over a five-year period from her other employer: Alessi Bakery.

Arrest of Rosa Harwell

The backstory:

According to an arrest affidavit filed by the Tampa Police Department, Rosa Harwell, 47, worked weekend shifts at the bakery off Cypress St. in addition to her job as a math teacher at Tampa Preparatory School.

TPD said the investigation into Harwell began after Alessi Bakery noticed a large amount of cash refunds from the point-of-sale system on days when Harwell worked.

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The bakery reviewed surveillance video from six different shifts Harwell worked in January and February 2025, TPD said, and found that she created "fraudulent and excessive cash refund transactions to artificially lower the total cash amount that the accounting system would expect to be deposited."

A more extensive audit revealed more than 500 "extremely excessive" cash refunds between March 2020 and February 2025, totaling $74,520.97, according to investigators.

Police said Harwell admitted to paying herself cash, claiming she was owed money for tutoring services she provided in 2019. Detectives said she was paid in full, however, and the bakery never authorized her to pay herself using cash from its sales.

Mugshot of Rosa Harwell. Courtesy: Hillsborough County Jail.

What's next:

Harwell faces 50 counts of false entry into books of business entity, along with one count of felony grand theft.

Hillsborough County Jail records show she's being held without bond.

What they're saying:

In a statement to FOX, Tampa Prep wrote, "We are very disappointed to learn this morning that a Tampa Preparatory School mathematics teacher was arrested yesterday and is facing significant criminal allegations of financial fraud.  These allegations have arising outside employment with Tampa Prep and we have made the decision to terminate this teacher's employment.  Any further inquiries should be directed to law enforcement."

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The Source: This story was written with information from an arrest affidavit filed by the Tampa Police Department.

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