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The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Tucker theft goes to grand jury

Jason Keenum, a former Tucker Foundation administrative assistant suspected of embezzling over $10,000 from student alternative spring break funds, faced indictment on six separate charges before a grand jury on Friday.

Jurors have reached a decision on all six indictments but the court cannot yet release the outcomes to the public, an employee of the Grafton Country Superior Court's drafting office said.

Five of the indictments are charges of theft by unauthorized taking while the sixth is a charge of fraudulent use of a credit card, according to grand jury indictment documents.

Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said he has not received the jury's verdicts either, but added that if convicted, Keenum could spend the next decade in state prison.

"That's a Class A felony and you'd be facing seven and a half to 15 years in state prison," Giaccone said.

Keenum, a resident of Hartford, Vt., served as a bookkeeper for the Tucker Foundation's fellowships and internships section, and was responsible for the collection of funds for the six service-oriented spring break trips.

At the beginning of Fall term, a source close to the investigation told The Dartmouth that Keenum asked students participating in the trips to pay in cash instead of submitting checks. Keenum then allegedly pocketed the money.

It was not until two months later that auditors discovered that figures did not add up in the fiscal accounts.

An investigation was launched, which led to Keenum's sudden and unexpected resignation on the morning of April 15 via a letter left in his workspace.

Keenum had served in the Tucker Foundation administrative assistant position since the fall of 2000. Dean of the Tucker Foundation Stuart Lord could not be reached for comment.