Former Art Institute of Chicago manager accused of stealing $2 million from the museum
A former payroll manager who used to work at the Art Institute of Chicago has been accused of stealing more than $2million from the institution over the course of 13 years. Last year week, Michael Maurello was charged with two counts of bank fraud and two counts of wire fraud by prosecutors in Illinois.
The prosecutors say that Maurello had begun the fraud scheme back in 2007 and went on until 2020. Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while each bank fraud charge sees the wrongdoer serving up to 30 years behind bars.
The indictment of Maurello claims that he had altered the course of payroll payments to his own bank account while showing in the system that they had been made to other (or even former) employees on the museum’s payroll.
Maurello had hidden the payments by giving pretend motives of spending, including payment for accrued holiday days. He also edited a number of details in the company’s system, including the bank details of several former and current employees of the museum.
A museum spokesperson said that Maurello’s fraudulence first came to their attention in 2019, and by 2020 the whole operation had begun to unravel when a controller at the museum asked Maurello about making a payment to a former employee. Maurello claimed the payment was made as a system test but then changed the details of a payroll report to hide the transfer.
The spokesperson told The Chicago Sun Times: “The cumulative loss was significant, but because of the length of time and manner in which it was taken, it did not impact decisions around staffing, payroll, scholarship funding, programming or other financial aspects of the organisation.” Thankfully, people did not lose their jobs then, and the museum will seek the return of the funds through their insurance.
