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OGDEN — A middle school teacher in the Ogden School District is under investigation accused of committing communications fraud and theft with the school's tax-exempt Sam's Club card.
Mount Ogden Junior High School teacher Elizabeth Galbraith was placed on paid administrative leave on Jan. 11 "when concerns arose about charitable donations as a result of internal review," Ogden School District said in a statement.
"This led Ogden School District and Mount Ogden Junior High School to conduct an internal investigation. Subsequently, a law enforcement investigation was initiated. The employee submitted their resignation from Ogden School District on Feb. 2, 2023. The district and the school will continue to cooperate with law enforcement in their efforts. We are not at liberty to comment on the criminal investigation."
A police booking affidavit says Galbraith is under investigation for utilizing the school's tax-exempt status for personal purchases, for scheming hundreds of dollars in sales tax avoidance, and for keeping charitable proceeds for her own use.
The affidavit says officers were made aware of a discrepancy in the state tax-exempt Sam's Club card used by Mount Ogden Junior High on dates when the school had not authorized purchases and from different locations, indicating potential fraud.
Police obtained surveillance footage of Galbraith "illegally utilizing the school's tax-exempt card on personal purchases" at the Riverdale Sam's Club, according to the affidavit. Officers then reviewed receipts and said they noticed a large number of personal purchases made were paid for in gift cards.
Galbraith is the sole handler of money for the charity organization Change for Children, which accepts large financial donations from local businesses for families in need during Christmas. Police said they contacted the families who were recipients of the donations and found many of them had received half of what they were listed as receiving or received nothing at all.
During an interview with police and school district officials, Galbraith stated she "accidentally threw away" between $8,000 to $13,000 in gift cards while on Ambien, a prescription sleep pill, the affidavit says.
"After further investigation ... it was discovered that over $21,000 that was in Elizabeth's possession is unaccounted for," the affidavit says.
Police said they believe Galbraith used the card — knowing it was tax-exempt — to scheme hundreds of dollars in sales tax avoidance. The scheme was perpetuated further by Galbraith accepting donations and only partially giving them to families, the affidavit says.
The school district said they activated the Crisis Response Team to provide support for students and employees who may be experiencing distress.
"We will proceed with steps to ensure that all financial discrepancies related to this situation are resolved and that all donation recipients receive the full amount intended by donors," the school district's statement said.
Galbraith was arrested on Jan. 27 for investigation of felony communication fraud and felony theft.
