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Sam Penrod Reporting There is yet another case of embezzlement involving Utah's public education system. This time it involves higher education at Snow College in Ephraim. The employee involved apparently confessed to their supervisor about their involvement. Now an audit is underway to figure out exactly how much money is missing and how long the embezzlement has been going on.
The fraud just came to light this week, and the college says the employee in question has been fired. The college and the state board of regents won't identify the employee or say exactly what the employee's job was at the college. Officials will say that an internal audit is underway on campus and that the attorney general's office is also investigating to see if criminal charges will be filed. No one will say if the fraud was about to be discovered or if the employee came forward on their own.
Amanda Covington, spokesperson for the State Board of Regents said, "it was a self reported incident, it was an employee who came to a supervisor and sharing that information which allowed the supervisor and officials at the school to look into it further."
This is the third case of fraud in public education in recent weeks. First was John and Susan Ross who were indicted on allegations of stealing $4 million from the Davis School District. Then there was Denise Aughney, a secretary who worked at the Weber School District Foundation who was charged with stealing nearly $1 million from where she worked.
In this case, Snow College says whatever is found to be missing will be covered by insurance. Investigators say it may be some time before their investigation is complete.
