INDIANAPOLIS — A former Indiana University Foundation employee was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for embezzling more than $300,000 in donations, U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers announced Wednesday.
Teresa Maners, 64, of Spencer, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and admitted stealing money that should have been deposited in the foundation's bank account, Myers said in a news release.
“For years, this defendant abused her position of trust to line her own pockets and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable donations from a foundation dedicated to advancing important educational programs in our state,” Myers said.
Maners worked for the foundation as a depositor and payroll deduction associate since 1988. Foundation officials confronted Maners in 2019 after an audit discovered the missing cash. She admitted stealing the money, Myers said.
“Charitable organizations like the Indiana University Foundation count on people in positions of trust to act in the interests of organization and its mission rather than taking advantage of their position for personal gain as the defendant did,” FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton said.
U.S. District Court Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson sentenced Maners to a year and one day in prison followed by two years probation. The judge also ordered Maners to pay $326,334.64 in restitution.
