Former Shelby Public Schools superintendent agrees to repay $21,000 in embezzled funds in Michigan

Scott Gordon Lund, the now-jailed ex-superintendent of Shelby Public Schools, has agreed to pay nearly $21,000 in restitution to the school district – 50 percent more than he was first thought to have embezzled.
In exchange for full payment and other conditions, Lund may earn a reduction in his conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Lund, 55, of New Era, has agreed to pay $20,927.42 in restitution to the district he once led, according to Oceana County Prosecutor Terry Shaw. Shaw said the school district agreed to forego $1,300 in attorney fees.

Lund is lodged in the Oceana County Jail, serving a sentence imposed Oct. 1 by Oceana County Circuit Judge Anthony A. Monton after Lund pleaded guilty to embezzlement by a public official of more than $50, a felony. Monton sentenced Lund to nine months in jail, with four months of it to be served at once and the rest at the judge’s discretion, and 18 months on probation.

The issue of restitution was postponed until a court hearing that originally was scheduled for Monday, before the matter was settled. Lund had earlier agreed to pay restitution of $14,129, the amount mentioned in police reports of his embezzlements, but before sentencing Shelby school officials said the amount stolen was substantially higher.

That issue was resolved by Lund’s agreement to pay the higher amount, Shaw said.

Under the terms of his July plea agreement with the prosecutor, if Lund serves the jail term, pays full restitution and successfully completes probation without further violations, he will be allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and have the felony conviction removed from his record.

A second count of retaining a financial transaction device without consent was dismissed under that plea agreement. The “device” was an Oceana High School gasoline credit card.

Lund was charged in January 2012 with using school funds to buy himself more than $13,000 worth of items, including a large-screen TV set, a treadmill, three iPads, material to build a deck and Wesco gasoline cards.

Lund resigned as superintendent of Shelby schools effective Dec. 21, 2011, after being placed on paid leave Dec. 8. He had held the top job for about a year, previously serving as principal of Oceana High School and of Ferry Elementary School.

The embezzlement happened from Nov. 14, 2009, to Dec. 24, 2010, according to the charge. For most of that period, Lund was principal of Oceana High School.

The credit card offense allegedly took place from July 1 to Dec. 6, 2011. In that period, Lund was superintendent.