School Official Stole $3 Million Lunch Money, Some Stuffed In Bra: Police

She really racked up the lunch money.

 Judith Oakes, accountant for the Rialto Unified School District’s Nutrition Services Department, was allegedly caught on tape stuffing large amounts of lunch money into her bra, according to the LA Times. 

 

The 48-year-old is accused of embezzling as much as $3 million from the district’s lunch money fund, CBS Los Angeles reported. It’s unclear what percentage of the $3 million was stuffed into her bra.

Oakes was employed by the district as an accountant for 16 years. Derek Harris, the district’s risk manager, called the cops when he noticed the bra-stuffing footage on Aug. 7. Oakes resigned the day after her arrest.

 

Police, who say a search of Oakes’ home turned up thousands of dollars in cash, now believe Oakes was embezzling money over the past seven years. Rialto Police Capt. Randy De Anda told the LA Times that Oakes oversaw the lunch money for 29 schools within the district.

“The lunch money can really add up,” he told the paper. “She had unfettered access to enormous sums of money over the years — much of it in cash.”

Oakes was charged Tuesday with suspected embezzling, according to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

The Bulletin reported that Oakes lived a “lavish lifestyle.” She and her late husband, Jack Oakes, owned expensive vehicles, dune buggies, and jet skis, and after her husband’s 2010 death, she purchased a second home.

Her husband’s obituary stated that the couples’ home “has always been ‘event central,’ with the family hosting birthday and anniversary parties, holiday and sports gatherings, and work and school functions — all anchored by Jack’s lavish and creative cooking.”