Glendora police detectives on Tuesday arrested a 35-year employee of the Glendora Unified School District after investigators uncovered the misappropriation of more than $350,000 in district funds.
Upland resident Cynthia Schlig, 57, was charged with five felony counts of forgery, embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, Los Angeles County District Attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison said. The former accounting specialist in the finance department is being held in the Glendora Jail Facility on $140,000 bail.
The arrest was the result of a 19-month investigation by officials from Glendora Unified, Glendora police and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit, according to Glendora police Lt. Brian Summers.
“Comprehensive forensic audits of Schlig’s work from the previous five years revealed an elaborate scheme of masking incoming cash with check deposits and altering financial documents, among other tactics,” Summers said in a statement.
The district’s business office administration discovered the irregularities and made the initial report of the missing funds in January 2012, Superintendent Robert Voors said Tuesday.
“When it was discovered, she resigned right away,” Voors said. “We called the police right away and what we ended up uncovering was a very elaborate and complex system of theft over a number of years.”
The district undergoes state, federal and independent audits annually, he said, and has added new safeguards to prevent a repeat situation.
“It’s unfortunate because you have hundreds of employees going above and beyond every day,” Voors said, “but then you have one big situation like this and everything else gets overlooked.”
The superintendent said it was the district’s intent to seek and recover the money that was taken.
“Glendora Unified School District officials have been an invaluable resource in providing assistance with this investigation,” Glendora Police Chief Rob Castro said in a statement. “School district officials have contributed countless hours of assistance, producing supporting documents, which included forensic audits that have helped investigators collect the evidence necessary to proceed with this case.”
Schlig is expected to be arraigned on Thursday at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles.
A longtime Glendora Unified School District employee accused of embezzling more than $350,000 entered a not guilty plea in court Thursday, officials said.
Cynthia Lee Schlig, 57, of Upland entered the plea at an arraignment in Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Shiara Davila-Morales said. She is charged with five felony counts including forgery, embezzlement and misappropriation of funds.
Schlig was ordered back to court Sept. 26 for a preliminary hearing setting, Davila-Morales said.
Glendora investigators arrested Schlig Tuesday following 19 months of investigation, Glendora police Lt. Brian Summers said.
Detectives found evidence of the embezzlement scheme going back five years, the lieutenant said.
Schlig, a former accounting specialist for the district’s finance department, had worked for the GUSD for 35 years, officials said.
She resigned her position in January of 2012, shortly after the allegations came to light, district officials said.
Schlig remained in custody Friday at the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood in lieu of $140,000 bail, county booking records show.
Lt. Brian Summer said Schlig, a 57-year-old 35-year former employee of the Glendora Unified School District’s finance department, was arrested after a 19-month investigation. He said the investigation began after school district officials notified police of the missing funds in January 2012.
“The lengthy investigation included a comprehensive forensic audit of accounts in which Schlig had access, along with thousands of documents which needed to be reviewed covering a period of over five years.,” said Summers in a statement. “It is suspected that Schlig took in excess of $350,000 from district funds.”
Summers said Schlig was able to steal the cash under "an elaborate scheme to hide cash deposits, masking incoming cash with check deposits, and altering financial documents including ledgers and receipts,” according to a statement.
Glendora Unified Superintendent Robert Voors said the discovery of Schlig’s crimes was disappointing.
“We are saddened and deeply disappointed over the actions of this long-time employee,” Voors said.
“Every year, the school district is subject to state and federal audits, as well as an independent audit conducted by an external firm,” Voors continued. “We have always been found to have exemplary practices. Nevertheless we have reviewed our policies and practices and implemented improvements with the backing of accounting experts. We have implemented additional safeguards to ensure the security, transparency and accountability necessary to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.”
Glendora Police Chief Rob Castro said Glendora Unified was fully cooperative in the investigation.
“School district officials have contributed countless hours of assistance, producing supporting documents which included forensic audits that have helped investigators collect the evidence necessary to proceed with this case,” Castro said in a statement. “This case was a very complex investigation that required hundreds of investigative hours to reveal the sophisticated theft scheme perpetrated by the suspect over several years.”
The investigation included work by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit.
Schlig is expected to be arraigned Thursday at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles. Schlig is currently being held on $140,000 bail at the Glendora Jail Facility.
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A former Glendora Unified employee, who had worked at the district for 35 years in its finance department, is behind bars for misappropriating $350,000 of district funds, according to a report by The San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
Cynthia Schlig, 57, of Upland, was charged with five felony counts of forgery, embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. She is being held in the Glendora Jail on $140,000 bail.
Glendora Police said the arrest was made after a 19-month investigation by Glendora Police, the school district and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit.
According to the district, Schlig’s crimes were committed over a number of years. Schlig resigned from her position as accounting specialist in the finance department immediately after being confronted with the discovery.
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