Fresno Unified School District announced Friday that it had been the target of a check fraud ring that attempted to cash unauthorized checks totaling $7 million from the district to one of its vendors.

The district said that after learning of the fraud earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the fraud was part of a larger check fraud ring.

About $4 million in funds were stopped before transfer “through swift action,” and some of the remaining stolen funds have been recovered, the district said in a news release.

The district expects all the remaining funds will be fully recovered.

Kept Mum During Investigation

The district remained silent about the matter until now so as not to jeopardize the investigation or recovery of funds.

The district took pains to note that while the County of Fresno is a signatory on FUSD checks, it had no involvement in the fraud or responsibility for what occurred and has assisted the district in efforts to recover the stolen funds.

Meanwhile, the district conducted an internal investigation and revisited its controls and processes “to ensure we are keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of fraud.”

The district did not immediately respond to queries this afternoon from GV Wire about whether anyone has been charged in connection with the fraud and by which law enforcement agency, which vendor the fraudulent checks had been made out to, how many checks were involved, and in what amounts.