Beverly Hills schools rocked by criminal charges, allegations of $5 million in misspent funds

The Beverly Hills Unified School District has been rocked by criminal charges filed by L.A. prosecutors alleging its former superintendent and former facilities director misappropriated more than $5 million in public funds.

The charges, filed Thursday, also reverberated in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, where Jeffrey Hubbard, 53, is now superintendent. Hubbard has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

“It’s absolutely not true,” the former Beverly Hills district superintendent said. “It’s an injustice. This is my career. It’s just not right. I don’t know how I could have anything to do with it.”

Hubbard and Karen Anne Christiansen, 52, former facilities director, were charged with two counts each of misappropriation of public funds. Christiansen, who now lives in Las Vegas, was also charged with six counts of conflict of interest.

According to the felony complaint filed by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, Hubbard allegedly gave Christiansen a $20,000 stipend that was not authorized by the school board and improperly increased her car allowance.

The complaint alleges that Christiansen, hired by the district in 2004 at an annual salary of $113,000, secretly negotiated to become an independent contractor while still retaining her duties as facilities director, a violation of state conflict-of-interest codes. According to the complaint, she was paid more than $5.2 million by the school district between 2006 and 2009.

In addition, Christiansen allegedly simultaneously negotiated contracts with an energy firm to conduct business with the district and her own company, according to prosecutors.

Christiansen could not be reached for comment. Hubbard, interviewed at his home in Newport Beach, strongly denied the charges.

He said the contract involving Christiansen was approved by the Beverly Hills school board after he had left the district’s employ.

In a statement, the Beverly Hills Board of Education said it was “gratified” at the district attorney’s decision to seek criminal charges against Christiansen and Hubbard.

The district has also filed a civil suit against Christiansen seeking restitution of the alleged misappropriated money.

Newport-Mesa School Board President Karen Yelsey said: "Since the matter was alleged to have occurred in another district, I'm going to reserve making any further statement or any judgment."

ALSO:

Orange County plastic surgeon to surrender license after sexual misconduct accusations

Construction manager for LAUSD pleads guilty to conflict of interest

-- Carla Rivera in Los Angeles and Mike Reicher and Tom Ragan in Orange County

Photo: Former Beverly Hills Unified School District Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard. Credit: Times Community News

Comments

[Astounded]

We need to reserve judgment on this one, at least as far as Dr. Hubbard is concerned. He has been in Newport-Mesa since 2006. Tough to see how he is responsible. What has that school board and the new superintendent been doing for four years?

[Charly bell]

How the rich stay rich

[James Andrews]

Just another public servant with nothing in his heart except concern for children.

[Not in LA]

Did you really think that the City of Bell was an exceptionally situation?

This story will repeat itself over and over, all over the state, wherever we have bureaucrats who want to be politicians and politicians that want to be bureaucrats.

[Dick Diamond]

At least the charges have been filed. Here in Tillamook County, Oregon, a small school district named Nestucca, lost 1.25 million dollars. The FBI, mind you, the FBI said, "It was sloppy bookeeping." The 1.25 million was 1/4 of the total budget. Sloppy bookeeping, my kazaztka.

[Avril]

Nothing new ,I would not be surprised if ALL the school districts were doing the same thing (big & small , rich & poor). Let's audit them all as a matter of fact. And not by their "contracted auditors" , but by independent companies with no motives to hide their findings.

[Bob]

Paid over a million dollars a year, huh? Doesn't look good.

[Republicans Suck]

WHAT!!!! corruption in a rich white area??? THE SHOCK!! i thought these sort of things only happened in cities where minorities live!

[mansterEZ1]

The contents of the gilded cage is being revealed layer by layer. If Hubbard is correct, where's the accountability at the time? Seems it takes much longer for rich people to wake up to fraud and corruption.

[stan]

While he is under criminal investigation, get him out of our Newport Mesa School, on a non-paid administrative leave.
These insiders know how to steal from public funds and enrich their friends.

[outsider]

If you like this story, check and see with LAUSD how many "consultants" hired their own companies to do work in their facilities department.

[larry]

Just look at him, he even looks like a criminal. Why are my Newport Beach taxes paying for this type of slime in our district. Didn't the school board do a full background investigation for hiring ?

[Emile Zola]

I haven't seen yet a criminal that when confronted with the crime is going to admit it. Maybe when caught red handed, but when that is not the case, it's never been done and never will. Heck, even when the defendant is guilty as sin, he many times is left go free and the other side of the coin: Many innocent defendants have been condemned even though they were innocent, which mankes the name given to our judicial of "justice" an oxymoron. Justice, as with beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. It's been said that olden times were always better. Well, in the case of "justice" it fits to a tee. Nixon was forced to resign for obstruction of justice and now that crime doesn't even register in our moral and just radars. Heck, now not even war crimes register on it. Illegal government is not only a given, when before was a crime that had been done in the level of the Bush's administration would had brought down the government even if the president would had been Mother Teresa. Now war criminals are let go free to enjoy their pensions and our government, instead of defending our Constitution, put pressure on democratic governments not to prosecute our war criminals and in this case we are not talking about the epitome of democracy, but about a government that was dictatorship for decades. A past dicatorship for many decades now wanting to enforce their laws and our government, a so called democracy, putting pressure on the dicator not to behave democratically. I have not seen such aberration of justice, not even in the old USSR. OMG, we have become them.

[DurableGood]

"Public School District" is just the latest target.

As satisfying as it is to berate everything 'public', and glorify everything 'private', it should be noted that Ms Christiansen was one of those 'Successful Businesswomen' who knew how to make it in the real world, running a business, who seems, on the surface, to have 'chosen to become a public servant', or at least take a taxpayer funded job.

If the allegations are proven true, this has less to do with incompetent bureaucrats than the fact that she is nothing more than another scam artist taking advantage of the public till to the fill bank account of her own private contracting business.

The public in this case would be the 'mark', and in this case some level of oversight or suspicion actually led to an indictment. The 'system' works.

We are the public, and we are the private enterprise, and good is done in both realms, along with the bad.

[JDub81]

Now I see why minorities can't get these type jobs....a classic case of "white" collar crime.

[smith]

And people are surprised?

Allowing professional "educators" to run schools without parental and taxpayer involvement is responsible for this.

The Compton school officials were "surprised" when 62% of the parents rebelled and demanded a Charter.

UC professors retire at 50, on the back of a 40% tuition hike and more out of state students at the expense of our own.

The educational establishment is looking out for itself, as our Mayor has belatedly--but better late than never--reminded us.

[shadowpark]

This is his right as a public servant to ripp off the the tax payer !!
what do we expect ?

[the_turk]

It's mazing how people assume people are guilty just because they're charged. Remember 'innocent until proven guilty'?

[BLUEWATER]

We need to hire people to baby sit people who
handle money is that what this is finally coming too?
How does this sound for a job?

CERTIFIED MONEY BABYSITTER?

[kgoddess]

Only surprise here is that Hubbard & Christiansen didn't do a better job of covering theri tracks. Anybody who thinks that corruption doesn't exist is blind.

[djack80]

Maybe we need to be giving more money to the schools so that they can hire people to watch the people. Regardless, we need to give them more, more and more....We know it will be spent wisely right?

[PlebisPower]

If we're looking for misspent public funds, let's examine the City Council's decision to fork over $130k annually to the Montage Hotel for gardening services to upkeep the Gardens immediately adjacent. The City built that esplanade expressly for the hotel but called it a public park, and even as public services like library hours are attenuated, it continues to pay the hotel to landscape the gardens to what officials concede is a higher standard than any other city park. This is not an expenses reimbursement contract; the City asks for no accounting. It merely forks the money over. At least one of our City Council members is a frequent guest at the restaurant on the Gardens, Bouchon.
Speaking of Bouchon, it suddenly got a lot less expensive to operate this white-tablecloth establishment. City Council just cut the rent 50% - part of a program to reduce rents for city-owned properties *downward* even as the city slashes law enforcement costs. Bouchon, unlike the cops, though, was evidently not performing up to expectations. In most places, that restaurant would have to make changes or fold. Not in Beverly Hills, where owners cozy with Council get a big break on the rent.
From there have a look at the $1.5 million handed to the BH Conference and Visitors bureau annually for "promotion of the city" ; the $300k+ paid to the BH Chamber for "business retention" (even though the Chamber is an organization of local business owners?); and a sweetheart arrangement to buy real property from the Chamber itself.
Last, have a look at the sweet, sweet deal afforded our city manager on contract. The city picks up his $1.6m home loan for an unbelievable 3% rate - for a decade with risk and subsidy cost borne by the taxpayers.
Gifts of public funds? Business as usual for our city.

[LAMom]

I love his response "This is my career". Really, to steal public tax dollars is your career? Time to find a new one.

[BillyBob]

Definitely time to audit the books and double check every contract, from the top to the bottom.

The "consulting" side businesses of administrators and principals needs to stop!!!

[MM]

For your information, "Republicans Suck", Beverly Hills votes heavily Democrat, and the city is run mostly by Democrats. Don't go pinning this one on Republicans. The previous Board of Education totally failed to oversee her and her company.