A woman from Marlborough CT, who worked as a secretary at RHAM High School, has been taken into custody by state police for allegedly embezzling $40,923 from the school district over a five year period.

Christine Vardanian, 56, voluntarily turned herself in to state police at Troop K in Colchester at approximately 9 a.m. on Wednesday in response to an active arrest warrant. She was processed and charged with first-degree larceny and then released on a $5,000 bond.

In May, state police started investigating Vardanian when they found out she was paying for personal Amazon items through district funds. Vardanian was then put on administrative leave.

According to state police, Vardanian purchased an iPad in May where they later told her she needed to return the iPad she ordered. She lied about it being delivered, and then gave the district a different iPad.

Officials said she started making purchases for the school district in 2019 and purchases included jewelry, clothing, protein shakes, exercise equipment, computers, and electronics.

The arrest warrant states as investigators continued looking through her orders purchases including a printer, portable chargers, wireless Bluetooth headphones, a laptop, an exercise hip thrust belt, a Nintendo Switch accessory bundle and more products that didn’t appear to be products the school would purchase.

Investigators created a spreadsheet indicating that around 878 questionable items were purchased.

The district confronted Vardanian about their findings during the investigation. She then asked if she could return the items or reimburse them and reportedly accepted responsibility for her actions. Following this, her employment was terminated.

“While Ms. Vardanian was always questioned by supervisors about the need for materials and supplies when placing orders, she justified them as items needed for students and/or staff in the special education department,” the school statement shares.

She is scheduled to attend Rockville Superior Court on Nov. 4.