The former business manager for the Western Arizona Vocational Educational District, Deborah Long, was sentenced to serve 4.5 years in prison followed by 7 years of supervised probation for stealing money from the District.
Long, also known as Deborah Keller, was also order to forfeit interest in her ASRS retirement.
Long stole over $100K while working as a business manager for Western Arizona Vocational Educational District #50 (WAVE), a joint technological education district in Mohave County.
According to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, as a business manager for WAVE, Long was responsible for receiving payments, managing accounts receivable, processing payroll, and reconciling credit card statements. Between November 14, 2011, and August 17, 2018, Long used her access to steal $139,284 from WAVE.
Long stole the funds through an unauthorized salary increase, paying herself for fraudulent travel expenses, issuing checks directly to herself, adding her name to checks intended for legitimate vendors, paying her personal credit card bills, misdirecting checks payable to WAVE, and stealing donations, tuition, and other expenses paid by students or community members. Long evaded detection by falsifying the accounting software and not recording receipts.
Long is ordered to repay WAVE $139,284.02 in restitution and an additional $31,326 for WAVE’s costs related to the investigation.