LOS ANGELES
A fund manager at UCLA’s history department plead no contest Monday to stealing more than $300,000 from the university through fraudulent purchase orders and travel reimbursements, according to officials.
“Public employees have a financial responsibility to the people they serve,” District Attorney George Gascón said. “This criminal conduct drained resources from the history department that could have been used to benefit students and fulfill the university’s academic mission.”
Diana Fonseca, 37, of Carson , plead no contest to six felony counts of grand theft and admitted to the special allegation of aggravated white-collar crime. As part of her plea, she agreed to pay full restitution, $336,000, to UCLA for the stolen funds, officials stated.
She is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 1.
On July 26, 2018, officials at the university’s history department discovered that Fonseca had created fraudulent purchase orders for electronic equipment.
Between May 2013 and October 2017, Fonseca submitted 45 separate fraudulent travel reimbursements for herself. All the funds went to her personal checking account, according to authorities.