$200,000 charged to Knox County Schools credit card
By Mike Steely
Senior Writer
steelym@knoxfocus.com
The Knox County Audit Committee was caught off guard Wednesday following a report by the external auditor, Pugh CPA. Audit officer Ted Hotz mentioned a credit card theft of about $200,000 from an unnamed high school.
The thief, who is said to not be a school employee, used the card at Home Depot and Lowes around the country to make purchases, possibly buying gift cards that could be converted to cash. Hotz and Knox County Schools Finance Director Ron McPherson noted the theft was discovered in March within five days of the theft. The fraudulent charges on the school system’s credit card through Truist Bank were eventually paid back by the bank and/or the merchants and there was no monetary loss for the school system.
“There is no loss,” Hotz told the meeting.
Quizzed by Commissioner Larsen Jay, the outside auditor had little information to share other than it happened and school officials seemed reluctant or hesitant to go into details. McPherson said the theft was reported to the auditor, state comptroller and local law enforcement. He said the theft was discovered by the school administrative office only a few days after it occurred.
Jay asked why the audit committee had not received the report.
It was also learned that the credit limit on the stolen credit card was increased by someone during the theft, allowing the run-up of about $200,000.
“This is not trivial, this is what this committee is for,” Jay said, adding that the incident “is a crime and no one is giving us information.”
As the matter goes on it may be revealed which high school was involved, who stole the card information and who authorized an expansion of the credit limit on the card.
