university embezzlement case with local angle

I was already interested in reading this story, about a St. John’s University Dean (that’s the one in New York, not my alma mater) who has been arrested for embezzlement:

“On Wednesday, Ms. Chang, 57, was arrested at her 15-room colonial in Jamaica Estates and accused of embezzling about $1 million from the university, money that prosecutors said she used to pay for lingerie, trips to casinos and her son’s tuition bills. As part of her scheme, prosecutors said, Ms. Chang siphoned a $250,000 donation from a Saudi prince’s foundation into a nonprofit organization she had created ostensibly for the university but that, in fact, was a personal piggy bank.”

Then I was startled to see that the Saudi prince whose donation was diverted was none other than Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, who has been such a generous patron of the American University in Cairo that our Humanities and Social Sciences Building is named after him.

But back to the alleged embezzler… What to make of behavior this risky and bizarre:

“She also had the authority to give out scholarships, and she made her son, Steven, one of the recipients. University officials found out and told her she had to pay for his tuition. Ms. Chang did so, using a personal credit card and then submitting the bill for reimbursement, investigators said.”

Successful corruption surely takes a bit more subtlety than that.

Her house also seems to be out of the price range of most academics:

“The district attorney’s office also filed a civil lawsuit on Wednesday, asking that a lien be placed on Ms. Chang’s home, which is on the market for $2.88 million, according to an online advertisement. It has seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, a gym, a sauna and a Jacuzzi tub.”

Her generous moments were also perhaps a bit over the top:

“Ken Winslow, 74, a next-door neighbor, said that other than the Mercedes-Benz Ms. Chang drove, she did not appear to live ostentatiously. But he said she once tried to use her position at the university to thank him for helping her. She offered his son a scholarship to St. John’s, Mr. Winslow said, who added that he declined.”