HEBRON, Conn. — A Marlborough woman who worked as a RHAM Central Office secretary has been arrested by state police for allegedly stealing $40,923 from the school district over a five-year span.
Christine Vardanian, 56, turned herself into state police at Troop K – Colchester around 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning following an active arrest warrant. She was processed and charged with first-degree larceny.
In May, a school resource officer was informed that Vardanian may have been using the district’s Amazon account to purchase items for herself, which were paid for using district funds. Investigators reviewed the Amazon account and the building’s video camera system. Vardanian was then placed on administrative leave.
On May 21, it was discovered that Vardanian’s recent purchases included an iPad, a laptop, a Dynamo Printer, two IAPOS portable chargers, a Nintendo Switch accessory bundle, wireless Bluetooth headphones and 23 other items that didn’t appear to be items the district would purchase, according to state police. The school resource officer additionally couldn’t find any of the items when looking for them and discovered only Vardanian had access to the Amazon account used.
It also appears that Vardanian gave some of the purchases, such as an iPad, to another district employee, reassuring them that they wouldn’t get in trouble, the arrest warrant states. As investigators dug further into Vardanian’s order history, they found approximately $16,000 dollars of suspicious Amazon purchases made over the past two years.
Vardanian met with a RHAM administrator on May 24 and admitted only to misspending district funds over the previous year.
However, state police said Vardanian had been making purchases for RHAM on Amazon since 2019, and an audit was performed to locate any other suspicious purchases. The arrest warrant said that as investigators took a deeper dive into Vardanian’s purchase history on May 29, they discovered she bought clothing, jewelry, exercise equipment, electronics and computers using the district’s funds. Investigators initially believed Vardanian had spent as much as $45,000.
In a final meeting with an administrator, Vardanian said she didn’t spend $45,000, the arrest warrant states, as she admitted to buying boxes of protein drinks and offered to pay for them. She denied ordering jewelry or clothing, state police say. She did admit to buying items for another school district employee, the one who she had reassured. The arrest report said Vardanian volunteered to pay back what she owed if the district would avoid police involvement.
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Vardanian was then fired and cleared her desk.
Ultimately, an Excel sheet revealing Vardanian’s spending history showed she used $40,923 to purchase 878 items that were highlighted as suspicious.
On Wednesday, Vardanian was released from custody on a $5,000 bond, according to state police.
She is scheduled to appear at Rockville Superior Court on Nov. 4.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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