Former UConn Hearing and Speech Clinic Employee from Vernon Charged in Embezzlement Case

STORRS, CT — A Vernon woman is accused of stealing at least more than $60,000 in an embezzlement scheme while employed at the University of Connecticut, according to an arrest report.

Deborah Fry-Mitchell, 42, was arrested at her home on Quarry Road in Vernon on Friday, Vernon police said. Local police were there to assist UConn police, who slapped a first-degree larceny charge on her, according to an arrest report.

An investigation by UConn police began on April when the university speech and hearing clinic complained that money was unaccounted for, according to an arrest report. Fry-Mitchell had been employed there for several years, UConn police said.

Part of her duties included making cash deposits with payments made from clients, according to an arrest report, in March, the job was shifted to another employee and that employee noticed that no cash deposits had been made over several years, according to an arrest report.

Two amounts were referenced in an arrest warrant from January 2012 to July 2015 — $24,801 and $35,332.

Front-desk employees told police that Fry-Mitchell would frequently mention she was leaving to make deposits at the bursar's office.

She "separated" from the clinic staff after the embezzlement complaints were levied, according to an arrest report.

Fry-Mitchell has an extensive community service record in Vernon and helped the American Legion with its role in the annual Memorial Day parade, according to town correspondence.

Photo Credit: UConn PD