By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

SAN FRANCISCO – A three year investigation has resulted in the arrest of several San Francisco public school employees who allegedly embezzled millions of dollars in grant money.

Investigators allege six current and former school district employees committed felonies by diverting state and federal grant money to several nonprofit organizations that paid out at least $750,000 for their personal expenses, unauthorized salaries and bonuses, KTVU reports.

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“We had people that were in positions of trust that were taking money, who were diverting this money for personal use,” San Francisco Unified Schools Superintendent Richard Carranza said at a news conference Tuesday. “This is the worst kinds of corruption.”

Authorities allege former Associate Superintendent Trish Bascom masterminded the scheme and had control over money distributed to nonprofits that were hired to provide school district services, and would write checks directly to individuals.

Bascom, head of the district’s Student Support Services, allegedly carried out the plan with the help of senior executive directors Linda Sue Lovelace and Meyla Ruwin; former principal administrative analyst Lilian Capuli; former assistant principal Mychel Navales and typist Mary Wong, according to news reports.

The case involves about $15 million in grant money funneled through three nonprofits over a 10-year period. Roughly $6.7 million was used for education, but spending didn’t follow the grant guidelines. About $4.7 million of the money has been recovered, Gascon said, but the nonprofits charged more than $1 million in administrative fees through the racket.

“One of the nonprofits, the San Francisco School Alliance, took in between $5.5 and $6.3 million and charged a half-million dollars in administrative fees,” Gascon said. “The nonprofit even ventured $250,000 in the stock market and lost …”

The San Francisco School Alliance so far has not returned any of the allegedly misappropriated money.

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The six accused are expected to be arraigned Thursday, and the investigation is ongoing, but Bascom’s attorney urged the public to reserve judgment until the case is concluded.

“I don’t know if any of these women are guilty,” attorney Stuart Hanlon told the news station. “You are presumed innocent until proven guilty. You don’t convict people in the press. We’ll see what the evidence shows.”