On Friday, first-year Ariel Foster was arraigned in Woburn District Court on charges of larceny over $1,200, and released on $1,000 bail. Foster plead not guilty, and is scheduled to return to court for a pre-trial hearing on May 5, according to reports.
Foster was an employee of Lovisa Jewelry at the Burlington Mall, and allegedly used store merchandise to falsely refund money to her own credit card over several transactions.
Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Julien Gelly said during the arraignment, "[a]n item was scanned onto the register, and the item price was altered to heighten the loss. The item would then be refunded onto a credit card," belonging to Foster.
A subpoena to Foster’s bank account uncovered records of Foster reportedly using the funds to make purchases from Tesla, Delta Airlines, a hotel in Hawaii, and Louis Vuitton totaling approximately $99,000, according to Burlington PD.
Court documents obtained by CBS Boston say campus police informed Burlington PD that Foster has been "...the subject of multiple investigations for similar... issues in the last year in regards to using fraudulent credit cards to pay for tuition."
Director of Communications Ian Meropol stated on Thursday, "[w]e are still gathering all of the facts," and as of March 9, "there has been no change in her status as a full-time student."
No further statements have been made by the university, or campus police at this time.