Boulder police have obtained an arrest warrant for a bookkeeper for Impact on Education, alleging that she forged more than $150,000 worth of checks from the charity that supports the Boulder Valley School District.
The warrant affidavit alleges Diana Lynn Lewis, 44, wrote fake checks to the school district or others, had the chief executive sign them and then forged the signature on other duplicate checks that she wrote to herself.
“It’s beyond sad,” said Fran Ryan, chief executive of Impact on Education. “To think that money was taken from children — it’s hard to wrap your brain around.”
Ryan said an annual audit of Impact on Education’s books revealed more than $150,000 was missing. The nonprofit then filed a complaint against Lewis in early December, and the bookkeeper, one of three employees at the organization, was fired. Ryan said this is the first case of embezzlement in the charity’s 27-year history.
Lewis had been the bookkeeper for Impact on Education since May 2004.
According to the warrant affidavit, officials found 61 fake checks written between 2006 and 2010 totaling $129,517 and then found roughly $30,000 in fake checks dating from 2004 to 2006. Impact on Education is continuing to review its records.
Nonprofit officials recently learned Lewis had previously been convicted of fraud, according to the affidavit.
Impact on Education is a nonprofit organization that supports enrichment programming and activities inside and outside of Boulder Valley classrooms.
The Daily Camera contributed to this report.
