Iona College Fires Two Employees After Uncovering $800,000 Decade-Long Embezzlement Scheme

The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting that Iona College fired two employees after one stole $800,000 over a ten year period and the other helped try to cover up the fraud.

The Roman Catholic college reported on its 2008-9 Internal Revenue Service tax forms that an unnamed employee fraudulently misappropriated $80,000 per year for approximately 10 years. The employee obtained the money though a series of small-dollar transactions, approving a college credit card for personal use and fraudulently signing checks…Iona discovered the transactions during the 2009 fiscal year, and the employee was terminated after the matter was brought to the attention of Brother James A. Liguori, the college’s president. Following an investigation, another employee thought to be involved in covering up the fraud was also fired.

Andrea Fuller, the reporter who broke the story, made repeated attempts to get confirmation from Iona College officials. Fuller determined that the New Rochelle Police Department had no record of any complaint filed by the College.