A museum director in Wisconsin could face prison after embezzling money from schools for students with special needs.
The accused in question is Heather Wenthold, the director of the Cedarburg Art Museum in Wisconsin. According to the investigation, Wenthold reportedly embezzled $100,000 from the funds of Sonnenberg Consultants, which runs three schools for kids with special needs.
Even after being named as a director at Cedarburg Art Museum, Heather Wenthold continued to chair as the principal at the Sonnenberg schools. However, an employee at the school said that Wenthold had been there only 5 times in the previous academic year. This, however, was the least of the allegations against her.
Investigations revealed that as principal, Wenthold embezzled almost $100,000 from school funds under various excuses. These include giving herself undue bonuses and billing the school for a $ 5,000 hot tub for herself. When her actions first became public, Sonnenberg Consultants distanced themselves from her and filed a complaint against Wenthold. However, by that time, Heather Wenthold had already deleted hundreds of emails that would have implicated her. Still, she faced multiple counts of embezzlement, bail jumping, personal ID theft, and cyber crimes.
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This is also not the first brush Wenthold had with the law. In 2022 she was charged with disorderly conduct and domestic abuse, while in 2017 she was cited for issuing a fake check. In the meantime, Tom Felmer (President, Cedarburg Art Museum) informed that Wenthold had been put on unpaid administrative leave and her access to the museum had been revoked. He also said it was a “surprise to hear [about the accusations]”.
