A Farmington Public Schools employee who worked with students experiencing homelessness is accused of embezzling over $100,000 from the district, including money meant to support those students, the district's superintendent said in an Aug. 26 letter to her community.
Hatty Ligon, 54, is charged with felony embezzlement of $100,000 or more, plus four felony charges relating to either not filing taxes or filing a false tax return, and one misdemeanor charge relating to safekeeping of public money, according to court documents,.
The felony embezzle could result in up to 20 years in prison. Filing a false tax return is punishable by up to five years behind years.
Ligon was charged on Aug. 25 in the 47th District Court, according to the court documents, and had an arraignment the same day. Bond was set at $500,000.
Ligon began in the district in 2013, Superintendent Kelly Coffin said. The investigation is ongoing into when all of the money was allegedly stolen, she said. The charges online are listed for offenses possibly dating back to 2013.
Ligon's attorney, Randall Upshaw, wasn't immediately available Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 26, for comment.
Ligon served as a liaison for homeless students in the district, Coffin said, through a federal program called McKinney-Vento that is paid for through federal grant dollars. But Ligon's salary was paid through district dollars, the superintendent said. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is a federal law passed in 1987 that provides dollars to support students experiencing homelessness.
Coffin's email to the community included the disclosure that some of the reported money stolen included grant money for students experiencing homelessness.
"We understand how concerning that may sound, and we want families to know that protecting the resources meant to serve students is a responsibility we take very seriously," she said in the email.
Coffin said by phone the issue of a "significant financial irregularity" was discovered through "internal questioning and review."
"An independent audit was requested and, once concerns were confirmed, the District immediately reported the matter to the appropriate authorities," she said.
Coffin said Ligon retired immediately when the district launched the investigation. She also said the services for students "were not interrupted and not impacted" by the alleged theft.
"This situation allowed us to tighten up anything that we believe allowed for this to happen," Coffin said. "So we've changed our financial controls, we've changed our accountability practices" particularly around those who work with this student population.
"This was somebody that was trusted and respected," Coffin said.
In an email to the community, the superintendent called the situation "deeply disappointing."
"It does not, however, change the work happening in our classrooms and throughout our district every day," Coffin said. "Our educators and staff remain focused on what matters most and that is supporting students and providing the strong learning experiences our community expects. We remain committed to transparency and accountability, and we will continue to share updates as appropriate."
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Farmington school district worker charged with embezzling over $100K