Former Burwell School Director Charged with Embezzlement

Hillsborough police charged a former executive director for the historic Burwell School site with felony embezzlement on Thursday. This comes after the site was under investigation earlier in October over discrepancies previously found in its financial reports.

Ronda Tucker of Hillsborough is accused of spending nearly $175,000 on various personal goods and services since 2016. In addition to her felony embezzlement charge, Hillsborough police also charged Tucker for writing a worthless check, which is another felony.

Tucker was fired from the Civil War-era site in June after the financial discrepancies were discovered. She had worked at the Burwell School since 2016, when she was hired as a guide, and had been promoted to executive director in January. During an internal investigation following Tucker’s firing, it was found the Burwell School failed to do a full background check on Tucker when hiring her in 2016.

Tucker was previously convicted on a felony theft charge in 2005 in Orange County, Florida, and had to complete over 100 hours of community service and three years of probation.

The Burwell School, which was a 19^th century girls’ school, is owned and operated by the Hillsborough Historic Commission. According to a release announcing the initial investigation, the site reopened after a two-week closure in June following the discovery of the discrepancies and has since met the site’s financial obligations.

Tucker is scheduled to appear in Orange County District Court on the worthless check charge on October 21. Her court hearing on the embezzlement charge is set for November 22.

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Former Burwell School Director Charged with Embezzlement

Hillsborough police charged a former executive director for the historic Burwell School site with felony embezzlement on Thursday. This comes after the site was under investigation earlier in October over discrepancies previously found in its financial reports. Ronda Tucker of Hillsborough is accused of spending nearly $175,000 on various personal goods and services since 2016. […]

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