Rialto School District Reacts To Arrest Of Former Accountant Accused Of Stealing Millions

RIALTO (CBSLA.com) — The Rialto Unified School District is reacting to the news that a former employee is accused of stealing more than $2 million over a seven-year period.

Judith Oakes, 48, was arrested last month.

Authorities say they have video evidence of the woman stealing lunch money by stuffing money into her bra.

Officials told CBS2's Adrianna Weingold that as they continue their investigation, they believe Oakes might have stolen as much as $3.2 million.

The school district has mostly been mum. However Friday, district spokeswoman Syeda Jafri spoke to Weingold.

"We have dedicated support staff. We have knowledgeable and caring administrators, this is the action of one person who is going to be dealt with," Jafri said.

Jafri also said the district has launched their own investigation and intends to make every effort to recover the stolen money.

"They're looking into every single check and balance. They're going to go back and do everything all over again to make sure that we have dotted the i's and crossed the t's and that's why the board of education should be commended, because it's doing that right now," Jafri said.

Oakes spent nearly 25 years with the district.

Jafri says Oakes was the main accountant for nutrition services when the alleged crimes took place.

Oakes was arrested on August 7 on suspicion of grand theft, embezzlement and burglary.

Rialto Police acknowledge this is the largest case of white collar crime they have investigated and the tip came from the school district itself.

"A supervisor within the nutrition department, who suspected some wrong doing or some missing money, took further steps to investigate it on their own," says Cpl. James Mills of the Rialto Police Department.

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Accountant Accused Of Stuffing Her Bra And Making Off With $2M In School Lunch Money