UK employee fired, accused of defrauding school of $224K

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – University of Kentucky officials have accused a former employee of defrauding the school of more than $220,000 since 2011.

Citing a UK Board of Trustees report released Tuesday, the Lexington Herald-Leader (http://bit.ly/21sZby2 ) reports that Steven Ellis, a former business manager in the physics and astronomy department, was suspended last spring and was fired in September.

University officials say Ellis sold more than $137,000 of university equipment on eBay and misappropriated $87,000 in royalty revenues.

UK began investigating Ellis last spring after he was reported by another employee. The investigation has been turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Authorities say Ellis had two storage units in which dozens of university items, including computers and projectors, were being held.

Attorney Fred Peters, who is representing Ellis, declined to comment on the case.

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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.