UVM Embezzlement Scandal, Embezzlement, Vermont 2023

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Ex-UVM Employee Sentenced for Embezzlement

Jody Farnham, a 55-year-old resident of Burlington, has been sentenced to 13 months in prison for embezzling $200,000 from the University of Vermont.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, Farnham was an office support specialist for the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese, a program offered by UVM’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Farnham embezzled the money by altering checks given to her by VIAC enrollees, which were made out to VIAC, to make herself a co-payee. She then deposited the forged checks into her personal bank account.

Farnham also stole some cash tuition payments and misused UVM credit cards to make personal purchases. The embezzlement scheme went on for several years, from around 2006 to 2012, and was only discovered when the thefts were uncovered in late 2012.

The case was investigated by the University of Vermont Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Farnham will serve a three-year term of supervised release upon completion of her prison term and pay restitution in the amount of $200,000.

The court directed Farnham to report to the Bureau of Prisons on July 29 to begin serving her sentence. Farnham is represented by Robert Hemley, and the prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.

The UVM community has been left reeling from the scandal, with many questioning how such a large-scale embezzlement scheme could go undetected for so long. The university has promised to take steps to ensure that such a scandal does not happen again in the future.

Farnham’s sentence is a significant blow to the UVM community, and serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency and accountability in public institutions.