http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/crime/249639.php UA police probing sales of ink cartridges University
of Arizona police are investigating whether an employee used department
money to buy thousands of dollars in ink cartridges and then sold them
on eBay.University police would not say if any arrests have been made
after a search warrant was served at the woman’s home on Monday.In a
search-warrant affidavit filed Wednesday, police gave the following
account of the fraudulent activity, which is thought to have occurred
between July 2007 and April 2008:The employee worked for the Arizona
Water Institute with the hydrology department at the UA. In April,
accountants discovered that she had purchased and approved more than
$27,000 worth of ink cartridges in less than a year.
She was the only person involved with the transactions. The
director of the institute tried to contact the employee to discuss the
transactions, but the employee did not respond to e-mails or phone
calls for four days.On April 6, the woman went into the office to clean
out her personal belongings. When the director came into the office and
saw the woman’s work space cleared off, the director contacted police.
The employee was contacted and told police that the institute simply uses that much ink. An
investigation revealed that the employee was listing HP ink cartridges
for sale on eBay at a discounted price. When someone ordered a
cartridge, she would order it from the Internet and pay for it with
department money.She would have the ink shipped directly to the
customer after confirming the customer’s money was in her PayPal
account.An auditor determined the following losses — more than $75,000
in personal purchases, more than $2,000 in wasteful spending, and
nearly $4,000 in donation checks that were deposited into the
employee’s account.The woman is no longer employed by the university,
according to Johnny Cruz, a UA spokesman.