Restitution could be in works for former school official

Accused bookkeeper has bond extended

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

With the possibility of restitution, a former bookkeeper accused of embezzling nearly $30,000 from two area school districts had her bond continued in Kenosha County Circuit Court July 15, pushing her preliminary hearing to Aug. 12.

Mary Anderson, 55, posted a $20,000 signature bond following her June 28 initial appearance, contingent on the conditions that include no contact with personnel and students from Wheatland Center School and Salem Grade School, according to online circuit court records.

With the bond extension, she waived her right to a preliminary hearing within 20 days, of which Anderson understood.

“So, you are giving up your right to have this preliminary hearing within 20 days, do you understand that?” questioned Court Commissioner Jon Mason.

Anderson, who appeared with Attorney Kevin Noonan, made short statements, stating yes throughout the two-minute proceeding.

The former bookkeeper is charged with two felony counts of theft of movable property, greater than $10,000 for allegedly taking money from both schools, starting in 2010, the criminal complaint states.

The complaint contends Anderson paid herself $17,000 while serving as a bookkeeper of Salem Grade School from 2006-14, when she voluntarily resigned.

Later, as the human resource finance specialist for Wheatland Center School, she allegedly stole nearly $12,000, the complaint added.

At Salem, problems arose in February 2014 when the school hired Business Manager Susan Jarvis, who noted Anderson refused to do assigned work.

“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.

Nine months after Anderson’s departure, Salem Grade School 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.

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.

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

“Having read the complaint, the figures are pretty significant,” Mason said.

However, Mason questioned Anderson on whether she felt threatened, or given any promises, if she waived her right to have a preliminary within 20 days.

“Has anybody promised you on anything, or threatened you, or questioned you in any way for you to give up that right to give up that right to a preliminary hearing?”

Through her attorney, she said, no.


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