A bookkeeper with the Anderson (Ind.) school system has been charged with embezzling nearly $1 million from the district.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Indianapolis says that Carla Burke, 62, of Anderson, has been charged with wire fraud.
Federal prosecutors allege that between January 2014 and June 2019, Burke used her position as bookkeeper for the district’s food services department to steal the money.
Rather than submit legitimate vendor expenses, Burke issued herself about 312 checks totaling $976,773.29. To conceal her theft, Burke falsified school district records to make it appear that the payments were to a district vendor.
Authorities say Burke spent the stolen funds on herself, including gambling at several casinos. She also failed to report $225,381 in income on her tax returns and lied to federal agents when questioned about her conduct, prosecutors say.
Burke was hired by the Anderson district in 1998 and was named food service department bookkeeper in 2006, the Herald Bulletin reports. She resigned in 2019.
Earlier this year, a special audit by the Indiana State Board of Accounts called on Burke to repay $1.1 million to the district and forwarded its report to federal investigators.
