Secretary Accused Of Stealing $40K From CT School District: WARRANT

Written, reported By Rob Polansky, of WFSB 3 TV

HEBRON, CT (WFSB) - State police arrested a woman who is accused of misusing a total of $40,000 from the RHAM school district.

They said Christine Vardanian, 56, of Marlborough, used the district’s Amazon account to make purchases for herself. It happened over about a five-year period.

Troopers started investigating the incident after a complaint was made on May 24.

Vardanian was employed by Regional School District 8 as a secretary, according to her arrest warrant.

State police took her into custody on Wednesday.

Vardanian was charged with first-degree larceny and given a bond of $5,000, which she posted.

She was set to face a judge on Nov. 4 at Rockville Superior Court.

State police said the RHAM school district fully cooperated with the investigation and took steps to make sure something like it didn’t happen again. (You can read the full warrant at WFSB 3 TV here).

The district released a statement late Wednesday.

In May 2024, Regional School District 8 administration was made aware of purchases which had been made with district funds by a non-certified employee, Christine Vardanian, that appeared to be for personal benefit. As a part of her role as the Administrative Assistant to the Director of Pupil Services, Ms. Vardanian was responsible for making purchases of instructional materials, supplies, and equipment for pupil services staff to meet the needs of the students they serve using a district Amazon account. After an internal investigation confirmed these suspicions, Ms. Vardanian was immediately terminated. Local and state police were contacted, and the district cooperated fully with the police investigation in the matter.

The District’s investigation uncovered orders over the past several years which Ms. Vardanian made that appeared to include items for her personal use. These items included electronics, clothing, jewelry, arts and crafts supplies, and exercise equipment, among other things. While Ms. Vardanian was always questioned by supervisors about the need for materials and supplies when placing orders, she justified them as items needed for students and/or staff in the special education department. In total, it appears Ms. Vardanian spent approximately $40,000 of District funds for personal items. The information discovered during the District’s internal investigation was provided to the police.

The investigation also revealed that Ms. Vardanian purchased goods for another district employee’s personal benefit and provided those goods to that individual. The goods purchased for this employee have been recovered and this individual is no longer employed by the district.
District administration and the Region 8 Board of Education take their fiduciary responsibilities to our sending towns very seriously. Since the discovery of the misuse of district funds, the administration has worked with a forensic auditor and made changes to its purchasing process to include a more robust system of checks and balances for ordering and justifying purchases. We continue to have complete confidence in the competence, dedication, and integrity of the teachers and administrators in our district.

(Editor's note: This story first appeared on WFSB 3 TV and is being reposted on Patch.com with full permission from WFSB 3 TV. (Catch up on other news across the state at WFSB 3 TV).