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Friday, February 16, 2024

One Could Ask How This Was Even Possible...

Seems like there should be systems in place for preventing someone from diverting tuition checks to a personal account without someone immediately noticing. But apparently not. From the Mercury News:

A former academic program officer for the University of California, San Francisco will serve 20 months in federal prison for diverting $1.53 million in tuition payments into her personal bank accounts, according to authorities. Sandra Le, 55, of San Francisco, received the sentence from U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick on Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Le directed students enrolled in UCSF School of Nursing post-masters and special studies certificate programs to have their tuition checks made out to her, a merchandiser she purchased from, or to leave the payee line blank so she could make the checks out to herself or her associates, prosecutors said, citing Le’s plea agreement. Prosecutors said Le deposited the checks into her bank accounts, including ones she shared with associates, and used the funds to pay for luxury items from the merchandiser, as well as for gambling, home improvement and other personal expenses.

Le concealed her conduct by creating false records of payments and enrollment for her supervisors, prosecutors said. An investigation kicked off in May 2019, when Le took a leave of absence amid increased scrutiny from UCSF’s audit and advisory services unit. Prosecutors said the school could not reconcile tuition revenues with enrollment in the programs Le managed...

Full story at https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/16/ucsf-administrator-sentenced-for-diverting-1-5-million-in-tuition-payments/.

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