Two former district employees have been charged with embezzlement at the San Mateo Community College District.
Bradley Witham, director of IT support, and Mark Anthony Bustos were charged with conspiring to commit a crime, embezzlement by employee over $150,000 and embezzlement by an officer as well as misappropriation, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Witham was arrested as he arrived back from Australia. Witham was aware that an investigation was ongoing. He was arrested Oct. 25 at 1 p.m.
Bustos was also an employee at the San Mateo Community College District as an IT support technician and was also a former student at College of San Mateo, according to his LinkedIn profile.
According to the an email from Chancellor Ron Galatolo sent to district employees, two employees used a district-issued credit card to purchase over $150,000 worth of computer equipment which they then resold. This had been going on from June 2006 until June 2012.
Witham plead not guilty in his court appearance on Oct. 26 and bail has been set at $1 million said Wagstaffe. Witham’s next court date is Nov. 14 at 1:30 p.m.
The District immediately reacted upon noticing illegal actions and sent an audit to the District Attorney to help with the investigation, Wagstaffe said.
(A mistake was made in the article which listed the amount embezzled as $400,000 this version corrects this mistake)
