States Attorney
PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEE INDICTED IN THEFT
Bookkeeper allegedly stole more than $115,000 over four-year period
WHEATON - DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett announced that Renee A. Spuhler, 47 (d.o.b. 10/22/1959) of 12 Pickford Road, Montgomery, was indicted yesterday on six counts of Theft in Excess of $100,000, three counts of Official Misconduct and three counts of Forgery for allegedly stealing money from the Cass School District in Darien.
The charges allege that Spuhler, who worked as an Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper in charge of payroll at the school district, stole approximately $115,000 over the course of nearly four years. According to the indictments, Spuhler allegedly enrolled herself in an automatic payroll deposit program offered by the school district. While enrolled in the automatic deposit program however, Spuhler allegedly would occasionally issue herself an actual payroll check in addition to her automatic deposit. Additionally, it is alleged that she wrote numerous checks to “cash” and later cashed those checks herself.
“Spuhler is alleged to have used her position of trust and authority to blindly steal money that belongs to the parents and children of the school district,” commented Birkett. “Stealing public money, especially money to be used to educate children, is a crime that I will vigorously prosecute. I am very pleased that the staff at Cass School District uncovered her scheme and brought it to our attention. I would like to commend the Cass School District for their swift action in uncovering this theft and for new procedures they have implemented to try to ensure that this type of shameless conduct never happens again.”
If found guilty of all the charges, Spuhler faces punishment of up to six to thirty years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendant’s guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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