$846,864.86.
Investigators said that’s how much money disappeared from the Citrus County School Board’s account.
CCSB officials were first alerted by a trusted vendor that a payment for a construction project had not been received. The school board confirmed the payment had been made, but it was later discovered that someone had fraudulently emulated the vendor's email and provided a false account number.
“This was a concern, this is a large amount of money. Over $800,000. So, yes, I had great concern this had happened,” said Hebert.
WATCH Erik Waxler covers the Citrus County School Board fraud scheme investigation
Hebert said someone set up a fraudulent email looking just like the legit construction company. They used a fake account number, too, and a school district employee paid them. Detective Joshua Cutlip works in the high-tech crimes unit at the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.
“I knew this case was going to have to be investigated in a timely manner with the help of the United States Secret Service,” said Cutlip.
Authorities said this type of fraud is commonly known as business email compromise (BEC) and happens when suspects gain unauthorized access to email communications and impersonate legitimate entities to divert funds.
CCSO was notified and worked with the United States Secret Service (USSS) to locate the money. Within days of the initial investigation, the USSS identified and froze $779,604 of the $846,864.86. The funds were found in two separate bank accounts outside of Florida.
“It is a huge relief. My goal is to recover all of it. I don’t know if that’s 100% possible. But 92% is a great start,” said Hebert.
The superintendent said they are beefing up training with staff to make sure nothing like this happens again.
Efforts are ongoing to locate the remaining $67,260.86.
The FBI said to protect yourself, be careful with the information you share online, and don’t click on anything in an unsolicited email or text asking you to update or verify account information.
They also said to double-check that you are paying the right person or company.
The Sheriff’s Office said this scam originated outside Florida, and they do expect to make an arrest.
“Those funds that are dedicated to the children, the employees of Citrus County school board, that’s where that money belongs. Not in the hands of the nefarious criminals who tried to steal it,” said Cutlip.
"I felt like it was really strong-arm robbery."
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