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Ex-Harvard employee busted for stealing $80K from university to buy Legos, Apple products – Metro US

Ex-Harvard employee busted for stealing $80K from university to buy Legos, Apple products

Ex-Harvard employee busted for stealing $80K from university to buy Legos,
Lydia/Flickr Creative Commons

A former Harvard employee with a playful side is accused of stealing $80,000 from the school to buy Lego sets, iPads, televisions and other assorted items.

Shawn Bunn, 44, who worked as a computer lab manager for the university for 17 years, allegedly used his Harvard employee credit card to pay for the personal purchases, according to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan.

The Waltham resident was arraigned Wednesday in Woburn Superior Court on charges of larceny, false entry in corporate books, and uttering of forged documents in connection with the allegations.

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“This is a breach of trust by a school employee,” Ryan said in a statement. “Over a period of four years the defendant is alleged to have made personal purchases in excess of $80,000 therefore diverting resources from the students and faculty of Harvard University.”

As an employee, Bunn was issued the credit card by the university for the sole purpose of making purchases for a computer lab. He allegedly used the credit card, however, for personal purchases and submitted false receipts to the school that were “inconsistent with the items that he bought,” according to Ryan.

His falsified purchases included several Apple products that he billed to the university through its purchasing program, but were for personal use.

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A review by Harvard’s finance department found hundreds of unauthorized purchases on Bunn’s school credit card and a search warrant executed by the Harvard Police Department at his home and office found many of those items, including Lego sets, iPads, televisions, a table saw and a garbage disposal.

Bunn was released on his own recognizance after being fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet. His next scheduled court date is Oct. 28.