Sorority theft costs alumna $81,000 job
 

State division director resigns over 1996 sorority theft
By JOSH FLORY of the Tribune’s staff
Published Thursday, July 7, 2005

JEFFERSON CITY - The director of the state’s Division of Business Development and Trade offered her resignation yesterday after acknowledging that she pled guilty to a theft charge in 1996 for stealing money from her college sorority.


"This was a youthful indiscretion, and I have paid for this mistake nearly 10 years ago."
- Randa Hayes, in resignation letter to DED Director Greg Steinhof

Randa Hayes, 33, of St. Peters had been working as director of the business development division, which is part of the Department of Economic Development, or DED. Her salary was $81,000.

Hayes came under scrutiny this week when the state Democratic Party, acting on an anonymous tip, revealed that in 1996 she was charged with theft and forgery in Cook County, Ill. Known at the time by her maiden name, Randa Ismail, she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was ordered to pay $36,649 in restitution.

DED Director Greg Steinhoff announced the resignation yesterday, saying in a prepared statement that Hayes "failed to disclose that she had been arrested for theft."

In a resignation letter to Steinhoff, Hayes said that at the time she was treasurer of a college sorority and used sorority funds to cover personal expenses. Hayes said she paid the money back and was placed on probation for a year. "Since then I’ve worked very hard, no matter what my position, to do the right thing," she said. "This was a youthful indiscretion, and I have paid for this mistake nearly 10 years ago."

I see treasurers stealing from chapters all of the time. 4/17 chapters have had this problem in the 2 years I worked in Greek Affairs. I guess that is why so many organizations have 2 signatures on checks. But that leads to the problems of getting the two together-especially at a busy time like recruitment and homecoming.

you forget some things just don't go away.

I'm not downplaying the fact that she stole from her sorority...that's wrong on so many levels. However, if she had been honest about it on her application (or whenever the question came up) she probably wouldn't be forced to resign. I'm sure there are some employers out there who wouldn't have hired her if they knew, but there are some who would have hired her.

Moral of the story: Don't lie OR steal.

PS: It's interesting that not too many chapter members realize they can look at the treasurer's books anytime they want to. Not only would that help keep the treasurer honest, it would help members understand where their dues go and why it's important to pay them.

PsychTau

This problem is definitely not limited to sororities/fraternities...a few years ago, a couple of students stole over $100,000 from an undergraduate theater company at Harvard. (As it happens, one of the members had been president of a sorority chapter there, but if she stole from them too, it wasn't made public.)

How can people think that $100,000 won't be missed??

She probably wouldnt have gotten the job if she had plead guilty to a crime of moral turpitude - which a theft certainly is. A lot of employers are big on that.

lots of different sororities/orgs. have been hit like this, it makes me wonder about the checks and balances within the chapter/club.
also, out of curiousity, i wonder what sorority she is/was in. not that it's relevant but still wondering...

This is very unfortunate yet not uncommon. I have heard about stuff like this happening in the past.

Out of curiosity, I too want to know which sorority she was/is in.

She went to Northwestern, so it would be one of the groups that is/was there.

Soror, I wondered about that too.

News In Kc and St. L papers.

Fry Her Butt.:mad:

She Screws Her Sisters and Then Her State Members.!!!!

No Sympathy here!:mad:

I know of an Advisor of Greek Affairs who stole money from the Panhel and IFC checking account-- he was obviously fired! I have also been told in the past that they suspected my ex-boyfriend stole money from his fraternity when he was treasurer-- but they could never prove it because the dumb arses paid in cash!!!

Is that good or bad?

If He did, what kind of Brother did that make Him. Why are You with Him?

When You or anyone else Steals From Your Own, just what do they desearve?:rolleyes:

I am a Staunch Puritan, Christian Beleiver in "Dont Screw Me, I Wont Screw YOU":)

Get It?

Thats why you have to put a lot of safeguards in place. The two signature thing is a pain, but you make sure a culture exists in the chapter where members know they HAVE to plan ahead. Not only are two signatures required, but check requests have to be submitted to the treasurer a week in advance.

Also, the chapter I advise is a cash-fee chapter. Check or Money Order only. When I was an undergrad someone walked off with $500 in cash that had been collected in dues. That taught me a lesson to never accept cash. Its just trouble. So now, no cash at the chapter level.

THAT IS HORRIBLE!! Way worse than just bad!! He is my EX-boyfriend and was at the time he did this! We were together for 2 1/2 years-- and this happened about a year after we broke up!! I guess I kept him on the straight and narrow!!

now this is a good reason why we should take more time to get to know potential brothers and sisters than in just like 5 minutes at a formal rush party. so glad we do informal cob-ing. i rushed for an entire semester. those sisters knew me and knew i would never do anything like that. plus, i wish my chapter ever had 36k let alone enough to steal that much....damn!

We have problem similar to this on campus with a few of our student organizations. Some of the newer (and some older) organizations do not open up bank accounts and the treasurer is holding onto all the money they collect (almost all in cash I might add) without keeping ledgers.

My supervisor and I made an agreement with an organization that they would get permission to do something they usually wouldn't be able to do without a lot of notice if and only if they provided us with financial documentation. The organization claims to be doing all these really great things for the members, campus, and community, but were unable to provide any documentation to prove it... the member finally admitted the money they collected as "fundraisers for the community" and dues was only being used for parties.

An organization can completely screw itself when it doesn't take the time to open a bank account and keep track of deposits and withdrawls. It really isn't difficult to do!

I'd suggest to anyone that is questioning whether someone in their org is stealing money from the org (I've seen members and chapter advisors do it, too), ask to see the financial records and if that doesn't work, tip off the University. Most Universities have a policy for fiscal accountability, meaning the University has the right to audit the organization's financial records at any time.

National organizations most likely have policies on the keeping of books. Normally, this would include a checking account with two signatures, and an annual audit of the books indepently by two officers, not including the Treasurer. This is good fiscal policy. Having a Treasurer handle cash in a personal bank account is just crazy.

I believe almost all our financials are done through the Fraternity Business Service with the University. I cannot express how much easier this has made the treasurer's job in terms of bookkeeping. Though billing everything through the University means other problems arise.