A former engineer for the College of DuPage station WDCB(FM), Chicago, has been indicted on felony charges alleging he stole more than $100,000 from the station.
Sixty-five year-old John Valenta was charged with forgery, a new charge added to 11 previous counts of felony robbery, according to the Chicago Tribune. He could be arraigned this week.
Valenta worked at the station from June 2006 through December 2013. Prosecutors for DuPage County claim he billed the college from his contract engineering services firm, Broadcast Technologies, for parts that were never used and labor that was not performed.
Prosecutors also allege Valenta hid his ownership of the company from the college.
Attempts by the Chicago Tribune to reach Valenta and his attorney for comment were unsuccessful.
College officials uncovered the fraud in 2013 and reported it to the police, according to the account.
WDCB continued to employ Valenta and pay his business for nearly two years after he was convicted of a felony for stealing from another school — Elmhurst College, according to the account. He pleaded guilty in 2013 and was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $11,270 in restitution, according to court records.
College officials said they didn’t know about his previous conviction.
