A bookkeeper convicted of stealing more than $130,000 from two school districts in New Hampshire has been sentenced to prison.
Amy Burley, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. Barbadoro to 12 months and one day in federal prison and two years of supervised release, according to the United States Attorney’s Office. Burley was also ordered to pay $131,261.81 in restitution.
Burley, who worked for the Barnstead and Hampton school districts, pleaded guilty in February to two counts of theft from a program receiving federal funds.
“These public school districts placed trust in Burley as their bookkeeper, and she blatantly abused that trust by stealing funds intended for the school children in these districts,” U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young said. “I’m proud that we were able to bring restitution to the taxpayers while sending a deterrent message that this type of thievery will result in incarceration.”
In her role with the districts, Burley processed payroll and handled the payment of invoices.
Burley used her access at Barnstead School District to alter her payroll information, make personal student loan payments and payments to personal creditors, and pay for an Amazon account charged to Barnstead, totaling $110,295.26, according to federal investigators.
Following her termination from Barnstead, Burley was hired as a bookkeeper at Hampton School District, where she used again her position to use district funds to pay student loans and credit cards belonging to her or her family members, totaling $20,966.52, investigators said.
The Department of Education Office of the Inspector General assisted the FBI and local police with the investigation.