Alaska School District employee charged with embezzling tens of thousands from schools

Anchorage police have charged a former Anchorage School District employee with embezzlement.

The charges come after a five month investigation.

Kellie Fagan allegedly took between $50,000 and $60,000 in school district funds from two schools, said Detective Tony Pate, who serves the fraud division of Alaska Police Department APD fraud division.

“It was pretty complicated,” Pate said. “The forged checks were part of a dual signature system the school district uses. She forged both signatures for that, and that was verified when we talked to the people who’s signatures were allegedly on there.”

Fagan, 61, used her school district procurement card and forged checks to reimburse herself for purchases, voided computer deposit records to hide theft and moved money from one account to another through forged checks, Pate said.

She has been charged with scheme to defraud, theft, falsifying business records, and forgery, all felonies.

The thefts occurred between 2010 and 2016.

When the fraud was discovered, Fagan was a Gruening Middle School financial data clerk, who collected money for student activities.

She also had worked at Central Middle School, and embezzled funds there as well.

District Superintendent Deena Paramo said the suspect does not represent the school district’s 6,000 employees, and likens the thefts to insider trading

“When someone steals from people in Alaska, from school districts, they steal from classrooms,” Paramo said. “As our budget is 25 percent paid for by local citizens and 75 percent by the state, they are stealing from the city of Anchorage and they are stealing from the state of Alaska.”

The school district is undergoing a business process review and is moving toward an accounting system for student activities that will be available online, which will generate electronic receipts, Paramo said.

The thefts were discovered earlier this year, during an audit.

Once the fraud was discovered, it was turned over to the police dpartment’s fraud unit.

Fagan was immediately placed on administrative leave and terminated in April 2016.

Alaska Public Media

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