Former UCLA employee arrested for embezzlement
Police arrested a former UCLA personal assistant Saturday for embezzling about $80,000 from a bank account she was assigned to monitor earlier this year. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Roberto Luna Jr.
Aug. 25, 2015 5:26 p.m.
This post was updated on Aug. 25 at 6:08 p.m.
Police arrested a former UCLA personal assistant Thursday for embezzling about $80,000 from a bank account she was assigned to monitor for over a year.
Casandra Carmen Jones, 51, was a hired as a doctor’s temporary personal assistant at the UCLA Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in February 2014, where she was assigned to monitor a university bank account, said UCPD Detective Brian Washburn.
Police said she stole the money from April 2014 to February 2015. After she was moved to a different department, the new personal assistant that replaced her immediately found the discrepancies and told the doctor.
UCPD began to investigate the embezzlement after the assistant and the doctor reported it to police in March. Police arrested Jones in her San Bernardino home Thursday, after a judge issued a warrant, Washburn said. Police then found documents, such as credit card statements, to conclude she had embezzled the money.
Jones was released Tuesday on a $78,000 bail, according to Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department records.
Washburn said he doesn’t think the money will be recovered, because it appears Jones spent it on personal expenditures and bills.
UCPD filed felony charges on Monday. Jones will appear at the Airport Courthouse for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 9.
Compiled by Roberto Luna Jr., Bruin senior staff.
