HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -- A former Northern Kentucky University administrator is scheduled to be sentenced later this month after authorities said she bilked the school out of thousands of dollars.
Michele Hall, of Union, was an assistant director of admission at NKU, responsible for entering checks on a deposit form and passing them along to be deposited. However, Hall changed 292 checks written to NKU into her name, and cashed them for a total of more than $18,000, according to a police report.
Authorities caught on to Hall after a student's mother noticed that a check she wrote to NKU had been changed to "M R Hall" before it was cashed, a detective wrote. However, the student's NKU account still showed that he had paid.
NKU records showed that Hall made the entry in the student's account. She told police it was the only check she ever took, and she took it because the school owed her for $75 she gave in change for students who had paid in cash.
When a detective went to the Cold Spring check cashing business where Hall had cashed the check, the employee said she remembered Hall, and that Hall had cashed dozens of checks ranging from $35 to $1,500 there, claiming she was a dog walker and the checks were from her clients.
A Campbell County grand jury indicted Hall in November on charges of theft and forgery. NKU fired Hall on Jan. 4 and police arrested her on Jan. 5. She pleaded guilty, according to the commonwealth's attorney's office.
Hall is due to be sentenced on March 27.
