The former president of Arlington’s teachers union has been arrested for allegedly embezzling more than $400,000 from the union.

Ingrid Gant, a Woodbridge resident, has been charged with four counts of embezzlement. She was arrested in Prince William County and released on bond, according to a press release from Fairfax County police.

FOX5 first reported the news of Gant’s arrest.

Concerns about leadership in the Arlington teachers’ union intensified last spring, when the National Education Association temporarily took control of the union and removed its entire executive team because of governance and finance issues with the union. According to reporting from ARLnow, the Arlington union leaders had admitted to members that they owed state and national unions more than $700,000 in dues and had begun the 2021-2022 fiscal year without a budget.

Gant, who led the union for six years, was terminated from her role in March, along with the rest of the leadership team. She had allegedly failed to provide the board with financial reports and failed to file tax returns, Fairfax police said.

The Arlington Education Association – the union — conducted an internal audit, and the accounting firm they hired found that Gant allegedly embezzled $410,782 while she was president of the union. Following the audit, the union notified the police, who reviewed the accounting and found that Gant had been providing herself with bonuses and using debit cards for unauthorized purchases.

In an email, Arlington Education Association president June Prakash said she could not comment on an ongoing legal matter and instead provided a statement from the union, saying that they were “pursuing all legal channels to recoup lost funds and hold those responsible accountable.”

The union elected new leadership, including Prakash, last year.

“Under its new leadership, AEA has already implemented stronger financial controls and transparent reporting practices to ensure sound operation,” said the statement from the union. “As a result of these changes, AEA is in a better position to ensure that every Arlington student has access to a quality public school, regardless of where they live, their family income, or the color of their skin.”

Last year, Arlington became one of the first few school systems in Virginia to reinstate collective bargaining rights for its staff. In 2020, the Virginia state legislature lifted a decades-long prohibition on collective bargaining for government workers, paving the way for unions to regain the ability to negotiate directly with school systems over pay, benefits, and working conditions. News of Gant’s arrest comes as the AEA navigates this new power to negotiate — and as unions across the state are attempting to win back their collective bargaining rights.