DeForest woman pleads guilty to defrauding Waunakee School District

A DeForest woman charged with defrauding students and staff of the Waunakee School District and the district’s food service contractor was given a deferred prosecution after entering guilty pleas in Dane County Circuit Court, according to an article from the Waunakee Tribune.

Connie Vacho, 40, appeared in Dane County Circuit Court on May 30 charged with felony theft by false representation involving an amount between $5,000 and $10,000, felony fraud by a corporate officer, and three misdemeanors: two counts of theft under $2,500 and one count of theft in a business setting under $2,500.

Vacho entered guilty pleas to the two counts of misdemeanor theft and felony theft over $5,000, with the other two counts dismissed, but read into the record. She was referred to a deferred prosecution program for two of the three counts.

In December, Vacho, then a director with Taher Food Service in the Waunakee School District and executive director of Shelter from the Storm Ministries in Sun Prairie, was accused of using money intended for student and employee meals and other work expenses.

The criminal complaint alleges that Vacho transferred funds into her own and ineligible students’ accounts.