As usual, the Journal News has picked up a story from Talk of the Sound without providing credit or attribution to Talk of the Sound although they did properly credit the Chronicle for Higher Education as having broken the story originally so there’s always that.
Here is the JN version of other people’s reporting: Iona tried to hide $800,000 theft by worker
The JN story is basically a restatement of the story published by the Chronicle for Higher Education with a misleading headline. Iona reported the theft in the only place they were required to report it, their tax returns. The Chronicle article states that once Iona College President Ligouri learned of the theft he fired both employees. It is common practice for private organizations — non-profits and for-profits — to terminate employs for embezzlement without pressing charges and they have no legal obligations to do so. Maybe the JN is so used to serving as stenographer in its “coverage” that they expected a press release from the college.
Talk of the Sound sources are pointing towards this announcement by the college several months ago: Iona College Appoints Jonathan C. Ivec As Vice President of Finance and Administration. Ivec was brought in to replace Kelli Hudson after an executive search. Hudson unexpectedly became acting Vice President of Finance and Administration in May 2009 and left after little more than a year to become Assistant Vice President and Controller at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.
As reported by the Chronicle for Higher Education, according to 2009 tax returns filed by the college, one employe was fired for stealing the money, a second employ was fired for covering up the theft.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The reporter who broke the story for the Chronicle will give an exclusive interview tomorrow on Talk of the Sound Radio on WVOX tomorrow from 11 AM to 12 PM.
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.
Talk of the Sound has confirmed that Hudson was appointed on an emergency basis to replace Sister Marie Thornton, SSJ who was, for many years, Vice President for Finance and Administration at Iona College and Special Assistant to the President, Brother James Ligouri.
Efforts by Talk of the Sound to locate Sister Marie Thornton were unsuccessful.
Here are two photos from a slideshow of photos from an event at Iona where Thornton presented an award. That may be Thornton but I cannot confirm or refute that; can any Talk of the Sound readers confirm that?
where was the controller and auditors?
As noted in the Chronicle article fraud goes on for a decade due to a lack of internal controls. They neglected to note the lack of internal controls is the fault of a deficient Controller.
Obviously this theft went on for a decade because Iona had the same unqualified controller and accounting staff for a decade!
Shame on the audit firm that Iona most likely paid hundreds of thousands to for a decade that did not find this fraud/theft sooner.