BANGOR, Maine — A former business manager for a local school district has been charged with stealing more than $100,000, including cash from school lunch sales, a prosecutor said.
Yvonne Mitchell, 56, made unauthorized payments to herself and stole cash that should have been deposited into Regional School Unit 63’s school lunch account between Dec. 21, 2007, and July 1, 2013, according to Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin, who is prosecuting the case.
The resident of Olney, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., was indicted Wednesday by the Penobscot County grand jury on one count of theft by unauthorized taking, a Class B crime.
The district, which serves the towns of Holden, Eddington, Clifton, Amherst, Aurora and Great Pond, had a forensic audit conducted that became public in March 2014 when now retired Superintendent David Anderson released a statement.
“The district’s accountant and current business manager have recently identified certain financial transactions from previous years that they believe require additional investigation,” Anderson said in the statement.
“We informed our attorneys and our insurance carrier of the situation.”
RSU 63 board Chairman David McCluskey two years ago confirmed the school unit has been reimbursed between $120,000 and $130,000 by its insurer.
“Yvonne Mitchell has not worked for the district since June 2013. It was Kelly Theriault, our current business manager, who became concerned and brought information to the attention of the district and authorities,” Superintendent Susan Smith said in a statement on the district’s website.
If convicted, Mitchell faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000. She also could be ordered to pay restitution and reimburse RSU 63 for the cost of the forensic audit.