California school leader stole $3 million and spent it on Disney and Amazon, feds say
The former executive director of a California charter schools is accused of stealing more than $3.1 million and spending it on Disney cruises and theme park tickets, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California said.
Janis Bucknor, 52, ran the for-profit Community Preparatory Academy charter schools in Carson and South Los Angeles, the attorney’s office said in a news release.
“Over the course of approximately 5½ years – from early 2014 through November 2019 – Bucknor stole a total of $3,168,346 from CPA, according to the most recent estimate of losses in the case,” the attorney’s office said. “The amount of stolen funds is nearly one-third of all federal and state funding that went to CPA during the time.”
Bucknor has agreed to plead guilty to “one count of theft, embezzlement and intentional misapplication of funds from an organization receiving federal funds, and one count of tax evasion for the tax year 2016,” officials said. The case has not yet been heard in court, according to the press release, which did not say when a court date is expected.
The former executive director said she used the money to pay for “travel, restaurants, Amazon and Etsy purchases,” including about $220,614 on Disney vacations, according to the attorney’s office.
A 2018 audit allegedly showed Bucknor used CPA money for purchases at Disney, Louis Vuitton, Girl Scouts, Ticketmaster, Uber and other unauthorized purchases, the plea agreement said, according to officials.
She faces up to 15 years in federal prison, the attorney’s office said.
“As part of the plea agreement, Bucknor has agreed to forfeit to the government her interest in three residential properties in South Los Angeles that were paid for with funds stolen from the charter school,” officials said.
