Lawsuit claims secretary tried to hide stolen money

The Weber School District Foundation has filed a lawsuit against its former secretary, accusing her of embezzling nearly $1 million in private donations.

The lawsuit was filed late Thursday in Ogden's 2nd District Court naming Denise Aughney, her husband and her parents as defendants.

"During her employment with the District, Ms. Aughney began diverting Foundation funds for her own personal and familial gain and away from the Foundation and the children in Weber County," foundation lawyer James Barnett wrote in the lawsuit.

Aughney did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Friday.

A criminal case remains under investigation by the Weber County Sheriff's Office, but foundation attorneys told the Deseret Morning News they filed the lawsuit out of fear that Aughney may have been trying to shift assets.

"As far as I know, the assets have not been frozen by any criminal investigation," attorney Bryan Benard said Friday. "That's ultimately why we decided to move forward."

Weber School District officials revealed earlier this month that more than $900,000 is missing from the foundation. The money was discovered missing during a November audit that found expenses higher than expected and budgets overspent.

"It was discovered that the check ledger contained duplicate entries," district spokesman Nate Taggart said at the time. "Further investigation revealed that the foundation secretary had been writing checks to her personal accounts and forging the signatures."

The civil lawsuit alleges Aughney would alter the check stubs to claim that checks she wrote to herself had been spent on school projects. Lawyers for the foundation claim Aughney wrote more than 100 checks to herself, and credit card and loan accounts she shared with her husband.

Aughney worked for the foundation as a part-time secretary for 11 years. She was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 14. Shortly afterward, the lawsuit claims, she filed two quit-claim deeds on lots she owned in South Ogden.

Copies of the deeds obtained by the Deseret Morning News show Aughney transferred one property to her husband for $10. Another property was transferred to her husband and parents for $10.

"It was an attempt to conceal assets," Benard said.

On Thursday, a judge granted a temporary restraining order, freezing Aughney's assets. A hearing has been scheduled for next month on whether that should be made permanent until the lawsuit goes to trial.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com; jtcook@desnews.com