Accused bookkeeper appears in court

Anderson allegedly stole from two local school districts

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

A former bookkeeper who is accused of embezzling funds from two school districts made her initial appearance in Kenosha County Circuit Court June 28, where officials scheduled a July 15 preliminary hearing.

Mary Anderson, 55, posted a $20,000 signature bond, contingent on the conditions, including no contact with personnel and students of Wheatland Center School and Salem Grade School, according to online circuit court records.

Anderson faces two counts of theft of movable property, greater than $10,000 for allegedly taking money from both schools starting 2006, a criminal complaint stated.

The complaint contends Anderson paid herself $17,000 while serving as a bookkeeper of Salem Grade School from 2006-2014, when she voluntarily resigned.

“Near the end of her (term) as a bookkeeper for the school district, her supervisors discovered numerous financial irregularities in the payroll records, general ledger reports and disbursements, all of which were maintained by the defendant,” the complaint states.

As soon as financial irregularities are found, it is best to contact a forensic accounting firm who can conduct an in-depth search to try and uncover any fraud. You can learn more about forensic accounting by visiting https://www.eidebailly.com/services/fraud-and-forensic-advisory/forensic-accounting. It was at this point when the team at Salem Grade School should have acted, but instead, things continued as they were.

However, when Salem’s new business manager, Susan Jarvis, arrived in December 2013, becoming Anderson’s direct supervisor, she discovered problems in February 2014 when Anderson allegedly refused to do assigned work.

“The defendant was refusing to perform her duties, her deposits were short and her check balances were wrong and not matching up,” according to the complaint.

Nine months after Anderson’s departure, Salem Grade School finally retained forensic accounting firm Balanced Edge to investigate her performance, revealing that she allegedly paid herself $18.02 per hour, instead of $13.42 per hour from 2010-2014.

Additionally, Anderson allegedly upgraded her hotel package while attending a conference at the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells, where she is accused of making two unauthorized transactions costing the district an extra $80.

Furthermore, Anderson, responsible for preparing deposits to the district’s bank accounts, had allegedly shorted two different banking institutions by more than $500.

The forensic audit revealed Salem Grade School suffered a $17,000 loss.

While Balanced Edge conducted its investigation, Anderson took a position at Wheatland Center School, where she was the Human Resource Finance Specialist.

Through Anderson’s tenure at Wheatland, she allegedly used a district-issued credit card to make personal purchases, and when District Administrator Marty McGinley confronted her, Anderson claimed “that she mixed up the school credit card with her own card.”

The complaint states McGinley closely monitored the account, and discovered seven unauthorized transactions were made, totaling $1,043.

Of the $1,043, Anderson allegedly spent $600 for vehicle repairs at Meineke Car Care.

McGinley, again, confronted her following the seven unauthorized transactions in a tape-recorded conversation, where Anderson allegedly admitted making the purchases and forging his name.

“She claimed that she had used the wrong card to make the purchases, even though the district card looks nothing like her personal credit cards,” the complaint explained. “She acknowledged that her behavior constituted stealing and was immediately terminated.”

Following her termination, Wheatland conducted several audits, and discovered a total loss of $11,607, the complaint contends.

According to the criminal complaint, evidence suggests Anderson had been under financial distress, citing several civil judgments the last six years and a bankruptcy filing.

On two occasions, authorities met with Anderson at the Kenosha Public Safety Building to “discuss these matters.”

Anderson reportedly became emotional, telling investigators she planned to sell her home to help repay her debts, and “wanted to cooperate to resolve these matters.”

The complaint contends, however, that Anderson has since hired an attorney and has not cooperated further.


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