Lake Worth school employee accused of stealing more than $80K worth of laptop computers
A Lake Worth school district employee who police say posed as an authorized seller of laptop computers for the district is accused of stealing more than 100 of the devices.
Michael Anderson, 40, is accused of committing the thefts for 15-months starting in July 2019, according to a Lake Worth police news release.
Lake Worth police estimated that Anderson is accused of taking $80,000 to $100,000 worth of laptop computers.
Anderson who is an IT technician in the district was arrested Tuesday morning. He has been placed on administrative leave, Lake Worth school district officials said Wednesday.
He has been with the district since June 2019, according to school records.
“The LWISD is committed to serving the children of our community, and this type of behavior will not be tolerated,” said Dr. Rose Mary Neshyba, school superintendent, on Wednesday.
Anderson was taken into custody as he was driving from one campus to another, said Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushigan in a Wednesday telephone interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telgram.
He faces a charge of theft of property $30,000-$150,000.
Lake Worth police noted that because the alleged crime was committed during a declared disaster with COVID-19 that the charge could be enhanced.
Anderson was free Wednesday after posting $30,000 bond.
Lake Worth police ended an eight month investigation with Anderson’s arrest this week. Authorities said there was a theft of a significant number of laptop computers from the district, but they did not say exactly how many.
But Lake Worth police said 32 laptops were still in boxes among the computers stolen. During his arrest, five additional stolen laptops were recovered.
Anderson is accused of stealing the computers and then sold them to a Watauga electronics resale shop.
The Lake Worth school district has over 3,300 students, according to school officials.
Anyone with information the case should call the criminal investigative division of the Lake Worth Police Department at 817-237-1224 or pdcid@lakeworthtx.org
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 11:59 AM.
