An internal investigation of financial transactions in the linguistics department at the University of Colorado at Boulder has led to the arrest of a staff member on charges related to alleged misappropriation of university funds.
Ruth Ann Cameron, an administrative staff member in the department since 1995, was arrested by the University of Colorado Police Department Tuesday, July 27, on the Boulder campus. She was arrested under a warrant following a meeting at the university internal auditor's office.
According to the internal investigation report, she and her daughter, Carri Copas, a former employee in the same office, allegedly misappropriated about $153,000 from departmental funds in small increments from 1999 through 2003.
Cameron is charged with two counts of theft over $15,000, one count of unauthorized use of a financial transaction device, two counts of embezzlement of public property and one count of forgery.
Findings from the university's investigation were forwarded to UCPD, who made the arrest after consulting with the Boulder County District Attorney's office. Because of the statute of limitations, the arrest warrant includes allegations only from a three-year period beginning in 2001.
In her position, Cameron was responsible for purchasing materials and supplies for the department, which has an annual budget of about $1.5 million in general funds and sponsored research.
The alleged misappropriations were discovered during an internal investigation requested by the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Dean Todd Gleeson called for the investigation in March upon learning of budget irregularities that surfaced after he established new financial controls within the college. Shortly after becoming dean in 2002, Gleeson began switching the college's academic departments to a centralized financial accounting system that provides expanded oversight on fiscal transactions.
"Clearly, this experience underscores the importance of establishing proper checks and balances within the college and academic departments," Gleeson said. "We intend to continue our process of creating centralized Financial Service Centers to provide appropriate oversight and support for academic units." There are 54 academic departments and programs in the college.
Gleeson said Cameron was placed on administrative leave with pay while the investigation was conducted.
Allegations from the investigation involve falsifying time records and use of a university-issued acquisition card (ACARD) to make purchases for personal benefit. The ACARD system, which was introduced on campus in 1997, allows designated staff, faculty and students to purchase low-cost items for university purposes using a MasterCard credit card. ACARD is designed to be a quick and cost-effective way to procure goods and services for the campus.
In the linguistics department case, Gleeson said, the total alleged theft was an accumulation of many small-dollar purchases over a long period of time, making it more difficult to detect the systematic loss.
The allegations include:
* Cameron's approval of more than $125,000 in suspicious purchases on the ACARD assigned to her daughter, Carri Copas
* Cameron's falsifying time records for her other daughter, a student employee, in order to provide additional compensation
* Using university funds to pay for food and lodging for family friends vacationing in Boulder
* Purchasing or approving purchases of more than $48,000 in groceries over a four-year period without departmental approval or apparent university purposes
* Obtaining cell phones without approval and having charges billed directly to ACARDs
* Receiving travel reimbursements without proper university approval
The academic focus of the linguistics department, which has about 18 faculty and staff members, is on the nature and role of language in society. The department offers about 35 lecture courses and about 38 seminars, independent study and practicum courses. Several research centers are administered within the department.