MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Schools lost $450,000 after falling victim to bank impersonation fraud and has appointed a new acting Chief Financial Officer, according to a statement from the district.
MPS said it learned of the fraud that was “perpetrated by an external party” on Monday, Nov. 2. About $255,000 has since been recovered by US Bank, and they are working to recover the remaining $195,000.
The district is also working with Milwaukee Police, the Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center and the FBI. MPS didn’t elaborate on exactly how the fraud occurred.
“This is a sobering reminder of the sophisticated financial scams that occur every day across the country,” Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius said in a statement. “We are taking swift and immediate action to strengthen our internal procedures to prevent this from happening.”
MPS has appointed Deputy Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Buros as acting CFO. Officials didn’t say why they made the change from CFO Aycha Sawa, the former City of Milwaukee comptroller who was hired in September 2024 to help right the district’s financial troubles.
Buros joined MPS over the summer and led the district’s budget process after working at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for three years, where she oversaw school finance reporting, district auditing and accounting, state aid for schools and other financial data collection. Before that she worked for 24 years as a business manager for school districts, according to MPS.
Officals said Charles Burbridge from the Council of the Great City Schools will assist Buros as the district conducts its own internal investigation. MPS is also adding “relevant additional controls” through its Office of Accountability and Efficiency.
