Audit shows administrator worked alone in embezzling from Grand Haven Area Public Schools

GRAND HAVEN — Grand Haven Area Public Schools’ officials were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief Tuesday as they received the long-awaited results of a forensic audit, which came in the wake of former Assistant Superintendent Brian Wheeler’s alleged embezzlement from the district.

After months of analysis by Plante Moran, the report didn't reveal any evidence indicating that Wheeler colluded with other district employees, or that anyone on the board of education or staff was aware of the embezzlement.

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“We’re certainly pleased about that,” said Grand Haven School Board President Carl Treutler. “Because we, certainly, as fiduciaries of the money available to the district, we failed in some respects, not because we were aware of it — we didn’t know for several years.

“Fortunately, we found out about it when we did. I wish it could have been sooner."

The report confirmed that Wheeler’s scheme involved creating false invoices totaling $944,410 to a company called Infinity Electrical LLC from 2014 to 2021. The report also provided evidence that Wheeler likely embezzled an additional $150,521.66 through a similar scheme using payments to an entity known as Business Office System Support.

Treutler said he’s known Wheeler for more than 20 years, and called Wheeler’s actions “shocking to all of us.”

“We needed to find the truth of what happened and how,” Treutler said. “To ensure the forensic audit process was conducted without influence from any member of the board or district staff, we placed our trust in the experts at Plante Moran, one of the nation’s largest audit, tax and consulting firms.”

Plante Moran’s forensic audit examined GHAPS’ internal operations, controls and staff actions. The investigation couldn't extend to personal accounts, nor answer questions about why Wheeler embezzled from the district or what happened to the stolen funds.

Prior annual audits, conducted by other accounting firms, showed no irregularities. GHAPS changed auditing firms during its 2021 fiscal year.

Wheeler’s embezzlement scheme was initially detected by the district’s business manager, who noted some irregularities during an internal review on Nov. 5, 2021. She expressed her concerns to then-Superintendent Andy Ingall, who immediately placed Wheeler on administrative leave, began an internal investigation and reported the matter to law enforcement.

After Wheeler failed to appear at multiple investigatory interviews, the district terminated his employment on Nov. 22. He was arrested on Nov. 23 and charged with one count of embezzlement over $100,000 and one count of committing a crime with a computer.

On Jan. 27, Wheeler died while in custody at the Ottawa County Jail, less than a week after he pleaded no contest to two charges related to embezzling more than $950,000 from GHAPS. He was scheduled to be sentenced in February and was facing 30-50 months in prison.

“We’ve experienced a wide range of emotions since November, when we first suspected Brian of embezzling from the district,” Treutler said. “We were shocked and angry that a trusted employee, who had been part of the staff for so long, would do something like this. But as we searched for the truth of what happened, our focus has remained constant — do everything in our power to keep something like this from happening again.”

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GHAPS has been working to recover as many of the lost funds as possible. The district’s insurance policy covers up to $300,000 for criminal acts of its employees, and GHAPS has already initiated litigation in Ottawa County Probate Court against Wheeler’s estate.

“We won’t be able to recover everything we lost,” Treutler said, “but we are instituting additional controls and processes to safeguard our financial operations.”

These new processes include stronger vendor verification methods, more robust requirements for contracts and purchase orders, increased employee cross-training, and more consistent documentation. In addition, district leadership is using the heightened sense of staff awareness to emphasize the importance of internal vigilance.

“Every day, our staff works so very hard to do what’s right,” Treutler said. “That commitment is even stronger now. We know we need to prove ourselves worthy of the community’s trust. One man’s actions broke that trust, but it’s going to take everyone’s efforts to earn it back.”

Treutler estimated the cost of the investigative audit at around $64,000.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Audit shows Brian Wheeler worked alone in embezzling from Grand Haven Area Public Schools