A 14-year-old girl in Florida took $13,500 in cash from her grandma's life savings and gave it out to her classmates, police says

by Sarah Al-Arshani

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A 14-year-old girl in Florida is facing felony charges for grand theft after police said she stole $13,500 in cash from her grandmother and handed it out to students, police and school officials said.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office told KDFW that it is unclear why the girl stole the money, which was half of her grandmother's life savings, or why she chose to distribute it.

Sky News reported that police showed up at Lake Weir Middle School on Thursday following reports that the girl was giving out hundreds of dollars to other students — even those she did not know. 

School officials called parents to ask about the incident, KDFW reported.  Michelle Spaulding, a parent, told the outlet that her daughter told her a girl she did not know tried to give her money. 

"That's when she was like, 'Yeah, mom! The child did come up to me and ask me if I wanted $100,'" Spaulding told the outlet. "And she said, 'No, it's got to be stolen, I don't want nothing to do with it.'"

The teenage girl told officers that a friend who moved away had given her the money to hand out, Sky News reported, citing an arrest report. KDFW reported that deputies said other students she the girl told the money belonged to her grandmother. 

The sheriff's office and school officials are trying to get the money back and have asked parents to check with their kids. So far, school officials said they found around $2,500 in the girl's backpack, and another $700 was returned by other students, KDFW reported. 

"I really hope it gets recovered, because that's so devastating. I feel really bad for the family," Spaulding told KDFW.

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A 14-year-old girl in Florida took $13,500 in cash from her grandma's life savings and gave it out to her classmates, police says