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Rialto Unified: Judith Oakes embezzlement trial pushed back again [San Bernardino County Sun, Calif. :: ]
[August 14, 2014]

Rialto Unified: Judith Oakes embezzlement trial pushed back again [San Bernardino County Sun, Calif. :: ]


(San Bernardino County Sun (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 14--RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Former Rialto Unified accountant Judith Oakes has had her day in court pushed back again.

If that sounds familiar, it does to West Valley Superior Court Judge Bridgid M. McCann, too.

"If there is not a resolution at the next hearing date, (trial) dates will be set," she warned lawyers representing both the prosecution and defense on Thursday morning.

Oakes is next scheduled to appear in court for a "pre-preliminary conference" on Aug. 21.

It's been more than a year since Oakes first arrested for allegedly embezzling $1.8 million from Rialto Unified.

Oakes, who worked in Rialto Unified's Nutrition Services department for 25 years, is charged with eight counts of embezzlement by a public or private officer and eight counts of a public officer crime. If convicted of all charges, she faces up to 11 years in state prison.



She has been jailed at Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center in Devore since Oct. 9, 2013.

Although Oakes is only charged with embezzling $1.8 million, an auditor hired by Rialto Unified reported that she may have stolen $3.1 million over 14 years. The statute of limitations on embezzlement prevents her from being charged on the full amount.


According to the audit, Oakes allegedly stole an average of $2,000 three out of every four days she worked over the past four years. Video cameras at Rialto Unified reportedly caught her stuffing bundles of cash into her bra on two occasions.

Staff writer Doug Saunders contributed to this story.

___ (c)2014 the San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, Calif.) Visit the San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, Calif.) at www.sbsun.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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