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John Hollenhorst Reporting This is the first time the suspect has been publicly identified. People who worked with Denise Aughney say they're shocked by her secret life as a thief.
No criminal charges have been filed yet. The alleged embezzlement is still under investigation. But officials of the Weber School Foundation say they're sure a trusted employee somehow squirreled away at least 900,000 dollars in charitable contributions.
Foundation attorney and board member Bryan Benard filed the civil suit. He says evidence is strong that trusted secretary Denise Aughney forged checks for years. The lawsuit says she admitted it to investigators.
Bryan Benard, Foundation Attorney & Board Member: "It's very difficult to feel that a person that you know, that you talk to every day, has done something like this."
She lives with her husband at this Ogden home. The day after she was confronted about the missing 900,000 dollars, she filed quit claim deeds on her house, and on a second home, a rental property associated with her parents. The lawsuit alleges it was a fraudulent transfer to her husband and parents.
Bryan Benard: "To transfer any interest she has so she's left without any money, without any assets for us to get a judgment against."
We reached Denise Aughney by phone. She said only "Yeah, I'm sorry, no comment." A judge issued orders freezing assets including the properties. When we reached the suspect's mother in Nevada, she was stunned to learn her daughter was under investigation.
She denied that stolen money financed the properties.
Annual audits at the Weber School Foundation failed to uncover the thefts. The director says financial controls have already been revamped.
Dave Howells, Director, Weber Education Foundation: "Oh, it's devastating, personally. You know, somebody you've trusted for years, and you rely on. And then this happens."
The lawsuit strongly implies the possibility of criminal charges against the husband and parents. But even the attorney who filed it says he doesn't really know how much the relatives knew or where the money went.
Aughney's husband has not returned our calls.
