Updated May 1, 2009 to better explain weak vs strong cash controls that should have been used.
vj
Florida School District Superintendent's Wife Skims $180,000
In our never ending quest to find examples of poor or weak government financial practices, here is another one regarding a school district, and some lessons we can learn from it.
Nepotism struck a Miami area School District big time when the wife of the Monroe (FL)County School Superintendent allegedly skimmed $180,000 from fees PAID IN CASH for an adult cosmetology class she ran, and also by improperly using a school district credit card over many years.
Magically, the lady flew away to North Carolina right after the finance director started asking some questions, and they are trying to get her to fly back. And, they haven't been able to get the husband and Superintendent to come in for an interview...
This illustrates how important it is to have quality internal controls and audits, AND GOOD CASH AND COLLECTION CONTROLS especially when any employee related to high ranking school district administrators have access to ANY funds or assets. In a well controlled environment, any fees for classes would be paid directly to a separate finance office, which provides a receipt that would be good for the class. Imagine if police were allowed to collect traffic fines on the spot in cash, and the police only reported what tickets they wanted, but instead you get a ticket and must pay it at the county clerk to ensure payments are received.
But in this case, the District let students pay CASH for classes directly to the instructor who apparently kept it in her desk (and didn't turn most of it in). The Board needs to have hearings to investigate why an instructor was allowed to collect cash fees for classes without requiring that payments be made to a separate department like Finance, and why the number of enrollees were not compared to the expected fee income for that number of students. Those are both common financial controls that should have been used.
And, let's talk about nepotism here. There always seems to be a tendency for employees to "overlook" or avoid reporting transgressions by other employees who are connected to, or related to senior officials. This is why you need a confidential reporting hotline, AND a very strong audit and financial controls program to ensure this doesn't happen. I have seen this happen three times, and in two of them, the senior individual was fired as well as the transgressor.
Read the full article at the link below.
vj
Favorite quotes:
Acevedo also could face more charges at the conclusion of an investigation of the school district's finances by the State Attorney's Office, state and local law enforcement, state school auditors and an auditor hired by the school board.
''Absolutely, there probably will be a few more charges that come out of it,'' Ward said. ``We have not even started looking at credit card spending and purchase orders. There also could be obstruction charges.''
In less than two years, Acevedo spent more than $95,000 on her school district credit card for items she claimed were for valid school purposes. The list included: pink silk ties, bar stools, spear-gun accessories, a table saw, a chandelier and the complete DVD box set of Six Feet Under.
Source of this article is HERE
Arrest warrant issued in Keys for school superintendent's wife
BY CAMMY CLARK
cclark@miamiherald.com
The wife of the Monroe County school superintendent has been charged with grand theft and organizing a fraud scheme for allegedly stealing $180,000 from the adult education cosmetology classes she ran, according to the Monroe County State Attorney's Office.
An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for Monique Acevedo, former adult education coordinator for the school district. Through her attorney, Nathan Eden, she had agreed to turn herself in. That didn't happen Wednesday.
Thursday morning, State Attorney Dennis Ward said he expected Acevedo would surrender to authorities in the Keys either late Thursday or Friday.
''I just got off the phone with her attorney and he said there was a type of miscommunication between our office and him,'' Ward said. ``He's arranging some sort of flight to get her back here.''
Acevedo had returned to her native North Carolina after resigning from her 15-year stint at the school district on March 3, two days after the school district finance director expressed concerns to school officials of Acevedo's possible misuse of her school district credit card.
If convicted of both felonies, Acevedo faces up to 60 years in state prison. Acevedo's attorney, Nathan Eden, did not immediately return a phone call to his office.
Acevedo also could face more charges at the conclusion of an investigation of the school district's finances by the State Attorney's Office, state and local law enforcement, state school auditors and an auditor hired by the school board.
''Absolutely, there probably will be a few more charges that come out of it,'' Ward said. ``We have not even started looking at credit card spending and purchase orders. There also could be obstruction charges.''
In less than two years, Acevedo spent more than $95,000 on her school district credit card for items she claimed were for valid school purposes. The list included: pink silk ties, bar stools, spear-gun accessories, a table saw, a chandelier and the complete DVD box set of Six Feet Under.
Ward also said he was not sure if others would be arrested in the case. So far, Randy Acevedo, the school district superintendent and Monique's husband of 21 years, has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.
''But we would like to talk to him,'' Ward said. ''So far he has not come in and talked to us.'' Randy Acevedo could not be reached for comment, but has said before he had no knowledge of any possible misuse of school funds by his wife -- other than a purchase of plane tickets and $300 sunglasses that were repaid.
School Board Chairman Andy Griffiths said others might have been involved.
''Were there dishonest people who looked the other way?'' he said. ``We still don't know how the catastrophic breakdown occurred.''
In the arrest warrant, Monique Acevedo was charged with stealing more than $190,000 in cosmetology fees paid in cash. Only $11,160 was deposited out of $201,424 collected. Under the statute of limitations, she can only be charged with theft of the $180,334 that was collected since May 1, 2005.
Staff members collected the fees from students who paid between $393 and $1,956 for classes and hundreds of dollars more for books and supplies. That cash was given to Acevedo, or left in her desk, as she requested.
''Acevedo told staff members the department was in the red and there was no money for supplies,'' the warrant states.
''This does not bring us closure, it's just the beginning,'' Griffiths said of Acevedo's arrest warrant. ``How could this happen and go on for so long?''
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