PENN STATE EMPLOYEES STEAL $44K WORTH OF TONER & INK

[Anonymous]

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/03/18/police_employee_stole_44k_from.aspx
Police: Employee stole $44K from PSU
A
former Penn State employee was charged Monday with felony counts of
theft and receiving stolen property after police say she used
university credit cards in a scheme that cost the school more than
$40,000.Tonya Sunday, a former Health and Human Development research
assistant and project coordinator, used her Penn State-issued credit
card to buy ink cartridges and ink toner, which she later sold for her
own profit, according to court documents.”Obviously, it’s unfortunate
that apparently a trust was violated,” university spokeswoman Annemarie
Mountz said. “We do want to emphasize that the person suspected has
been caught and charges have been filed.”Police said Sunday — whose
embezzlement ran from August 2006 to January 2009 — sold the ink toner
to a company in Utah, sold other items on eBay.com and reported
fraudulent mileage to pay for her parking.

The 36-year-old was
placed on leave without pay at the beginning of the investigation and
was ultimately dismissed from her position, Mountz said.Sunday, 163
Edith St., also used Penn State mail services to ship the items she
sold on the Internet, police said.Mountz said another employee was
suspicious of Sunday and reported the concerns to a financial
officer.The university’s auditing department then conducted an
investigation and discovered a number of discrepancies with sales
receipts and invoices, police said.

When police contacted
Sunday, she said she used her company credit card to purchase the items
and sell them for her own profit — costing the university about
$44,275, police said. She told police she also bought items with the
university credit cards and gave them to family members, according to
court documents.Ann Crouter, dean of the College of Health and Human
Development, referred all comment to Penn State public information.

Many
Penn State employees have purchasing cards, which can be used for
hotels, meals and other items, Mountz said. The university has an
ethics hotline that allows employees to anonymously report concerns to
a third party.”We have nearly 40,000 employees here that are honest and
ethical,” Mountz said. “I think in general the vast amount of employees
hereare ethical and want to do the right thing.”Sunday’s preliminary
hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. March 25 in the Centre County
Courthouse.

[Author]

March 19, 2009 at 12:24 PM