Lusher Charter School

“NOPD says feds now looking into 2011 embezzlement from Lusher Charter School.” The Lens (LA), 4/17/2013

The New Orleans Police Department is working with federal investigators in an embezzlement case from 2011 at Lusher Charter School that so far has led to no charges against the admitted embezzler...

Lauren Hightower, a former accountant at the Uptown school, was discovered by administrators to have forged signatures on checks adding up to $25,800. The investigation into her activities is focused on the forgeries...

Hightower was fired from her post; she later returned the money. School officials said she reported herself to the State Board of Certified Public Accountants, which licenses CPAs. Her license has been revoked, according to the agency’s website.

Hightower has not been charged with theft or embezzlement. The detective on the case, Michael Riley, told the Lens in March that the speedy return of the money by Hightower’s lawyer rendered the theft charge a “moot issue.”

... Riley has been talking with a representative from the Inspector General wing of the U.S. Department of Education, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Knight and the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, over how to proceed...