Finance Director at Providence School for At-Risk Kids Embezzled $3 Million, Allege State Police
GoLocalProv News Team
Finance Director at Providence School for At-Risk Kids Embezzled $3 Million, Allege State Police
Detectives from the Financial Crimes Unit on Tuesday arrested Nathan Kaufman, age 35, of 29 Joy Street on charges of embezzlement and "access to a computer for fraudulent purposes."
Kaufman is a graduate of Classical High School in Providence and has a degree from Clemson University.
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The State Police say that in August of 2022, detectives were contacted by the staff from the Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program (UCAP), a collaborative school located in Providence, regarding financial irregularities.
For a number of years, Kaufman was the basketball coach at UCAP and promoted golf to children at the school.
According to his bio, he is a PGA Class A golf Pro.
An investigation by State Police detectives reportedly revealed evidence showing that $3,000,000 had been diverted from UCAP funds to a private account. Kaufman was employed by UCAP as the Director of Finance and Operations from 2011 to June 2022.
According to RISP, in his role, Kaufman had access to all UCAP’s financial accounts. It is alleged that Kaufman transferred UCAP funds for his personal use.
UCAP was founded by education innovator Rob DeBlois. He died in 2020.
DeBlois' obituary was described UCAP as the following.
"Through pure doggedness and determination, he built a community of public and private support which has lifted UCAP into a model for public education. He was a demanding, yet forgiving, principal and team leader as he worked tirelessly to develop and improve UCAP. In all of this, his sense of humor and mischievous spirit endeared him to those he worked with, and made working with him fun - always a goal of his. He never lost his youthful point of view, which made him a constant advocate for his students. In fact, having fun is included in UCAP’s mission statement. Rob always said that what was needed was for society as a whole to stop looking at at-risk students as “other people’s children” and embrace them as their own."
Kaufman was arraigned at 6th District Court before Judge Melissa Dubose and released on $15,000.00 Surety Bail.
He is scheduled to appear in 6th Division District Court for a Pre-Arraignment Conference on January 4, 2023.
A person convicted of Embezzlement shall be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or three (3) times the value of the money or property thus embezzled or converted, whichever is greater, or imprisoned not more than twenty (20) years, or both, except that if the sum or value of the property embezzled is less than one hundred dollars ($100), he or she shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. A person convicted of Access to a Computer for Fraudulent Purposes shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or imprisoned for not more than five (5) years, or both.