TMCnet News

Rialto Unified: Accused embezzler Judith Oakes back in court on Thursday [San Bernardino County Sun, Calif. :: ]
[August 14, 2014]

Rialto Unified: Accused embezzler Judith Oakes back in court on Thursday [San Bernardino County Sun, Calif. :: ]


(San Bernardino County Sun (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 14--Former Rialto Unified accountant Judith Oakes is scheduled to appear in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court today, more than a year after she was first arrested for allegedly embezzling $1.8 million from the district.



The former accountant in Rialto Unified's Nutrition Services department is charged with eight counts of embezzlement by a public or private officer and eight counts of a public officer crime. If convicted of all charges, she faces up to 11 years in state prison.

She has been jailed at Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center in Devore since Oct. 9.


Although Oakes is charged with embezzling $1.8 million, an auditor hired by Rialto Unified reported that she may have stolen $3.1 million over 14 years. The statute of limitations on embezzlement prevents her from being charged on the full amount.

According to the audit, Oakes allegedly stole an average of $2,000 three out of every four days she worked over the past four years. Video cameras at Rialto Unified reportedly caught her stuffing bundles of cash into her bra on two occasions.

In February, the Rialto Unified school board fired its accounting firm.

Oakes worked for the Rialto Unified School District for 25 years before resigning on Aug. 8, 2013, following her being arrested the day before.

___ (c)2014 the San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, Calif.) Visit the San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, Calif.) at www.sbsun.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]