SAN BERNARDINO >> Three people, including two former San Bernardino City Unified School District employees, have been charged with the theft of $71,000 worth of iPads and other educational tools meant for students.
Andrew John Schultz, 34, of Monrovia and Eric Ashley Buries, 48, of Rancho Cucamonga are charged with one felony count of embezzlement, according to court records. Colette Schultz, 33, of Monrovia — who is married to co-defendant Andrew Schultz — was also charged with one felony count of receiving stolen property for her alleged role in the scheme.
In July 2015, both men worked at the school district, Andrew Schultz as a coordinator for special education and Buries as a coordinator for psychological services, according to the watchdog website Transparent California. Both had worked for the district since 2014. They are accused of stealing iPads and computers, then selling them on Craigslist and at pawn shops, according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.
“They could order items that are to be distributed to employees across the district,” SBCUSD spokeswoman Linda Bardere said Friday afternoon. “That’s where the breakdown was, in the receiving of the items and the distribution to the employees that already ordered them.”
Some of the stolen items, which also include related items like televisions, computer carts, Apple TV set-top units and more, have been recovered, she said.
The district first became aware of the alleged thefts May 19, according to Bardere.
“A fair and deliberate investigation was launched,” she said. “The employees at that time were placed on administrative leave.”
Schultz and Buries no longer work for the district, both resigning June 30.
All three defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 29 at the San Bernardino County Superior Court. All of the accused are out of custody.
According to Transparent California, a website that tracks the salaries of the state’s public employees, Buries brought home a salary of $78,338.25 in 2014. In 2014, Schultz transferred from the Glendale Unified School District to the SBCUSD.
That year, he made a combined $116,166.81 between the two school district jobs.