GRAND HAVEN, Mich — The former assistant superintendent of Grand Haven Area Public Schools has pleaded no contest to allegedly embezzling more than $1 million from the district over several years.
RELATED: Court docs: Former Grand Haven asst. superintendent stole nearly $1 million from school system
56-year-old Brian Wheeler worked at the school system for over two decades and was fired back in mid-November of last year after a weekslong investigation by the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety.
According to court documents obtained by 13 ON YOUR SIDE, Wheeler used a computer at work to create false invoices for a company called "Infinity Electric" for amounts around $7,000. Investigation shows the company did not exist.
Wheeler would turn in the invoices to a woman who worked in accounts payable, who issued him checks. Wheeler then put the money into his own account, which he would later transfer via a cash app, detectives say.
Police started investigating when the district realized some of the money from a bond set aside for the technology department went missing. Court documents show the alleged embezzlement begin back in 2014 and is believed to have taken around $900,000.
Two days prior to his arrest, Wheeler's wife said she was aware of the embezzlement.
Grand Haven Area Public Schools Superintendent Andrew Ingall issued a statement about the situation back in November of 2021:
"Grand Haven Area Public Schools contracts with professional accounting firms to conduct annual audits. None of their findings revealed irregularities. In light of our recent discovery, we are in the process of hiring an independent forensic auditor to fully investigate the situation. Should shortcomings in our processes be discovered, we will immediately make adjustments based on their recommendations."
Wheeler will be sentenced in Grand Haven District court in February.
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