A former employee at RHAM High School in Hebron has been arrested on a felony larceny charge after authorities alleged that she misused about $40,000 of district funds over five years buying things like electronics, clothing and jewelry.
Christine Vardanian, 56, of Marlborough turned herself in to state troopers on Wednesday on one count of first-degree larceny, according to Connecticut State Police.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Regional School District 8 Superintendent Colin McNamara said Vardanian was fired in May after school officials learned she was allegedly using the district’s Amazon account to make purchases for herself as well as gifts for a friend, who was identified as another school employee. That individual, whose identity has not been released, is no longer with the district, McNamara said.
“District administration and the Region 8 Board of Education take their fiduciary responsibilities to our sending towns very seriously,” McNamara said. “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.”
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the allegations were first reported when a school official reached out to a school resource officer and said Vardanian, who was the Central Office secretary, was believed to have been abusing the school’s Amazon account. The official told the officer he had been approached by other staff members at the school with the accusations. Vardanian was placed on leave later in the day.
According to the warrant affidavit, an employee of the school noticed suspicious activity on Vardanian’s Amazon purchase history while searching for the serial number of an iPad she had purchased. The individual told investigators he was in charge of ensuring Apple services needed for school devices were delivered.
While looking through Vardanian’s purchase history, the employee allegedly noticed a car part for a Ram truck was bought, the warrant affidavit said. The employee found it odd that the school would need a car part and noted that Vardanian drove a Ram.
During an initial review of Vardanian’s purchase, investigators allege that she had bought a laptop, printer, charger, an exercise belt, a Nintendo Switch accessory bundle and 23 other items that did not appear school related, the warrant affidavit said.
According to McNamara, when Vardanian was questioned about items by a supervisor at the time of the purchases “she justified them as items needed for students and/or staff in the special education department.”
During the investigation, school officials found video surveillance footage of Vardanian bringing boxes of what were suspected to be protein shakes into her vehicle, the warrant affidavit said.
When confronted about the allegations, school officials said Vardanian initially denied any wrongdoing. She was told she was seen on video and she allegedly admitted that she had taken the shakes but offered to return them or pay for them, according to the warrant affidavit.
When confronted further Vardanian allegedly said she would take full responsibility and pleaded for school officials not to get police involved, the warrant affidavit said. She also allegedly said the items she bought for another employee of the school were done so without his knowledge and that he had nothing to do with it, according to the warrant affidavit.
At the end of her interview with school officials, Vardanian was told she was fired, the warrant affidavit said.
The district later put together an Excel spreadsheet of all the items suspected to have been purchased by Vardanian that were not for the school. A total of 878 items totaling about $40,900 were found to have been purchased over five years, the warrant affidavit said.
Following her arrest, Vardanian was released on a $5,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on Nov. 4.
