Police: School finance director pocketed $3M for personal use

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Police have arrested a Providence man accused of defrauding a collaborative school out of millions of dollars.

Nathan Kaufman, who worked for the Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program (UCAP) as its director of finance and operations for more than a decade, has been charged with embezzlement and access to a computer for fraudulent purposes.

Kaufman worked for the Providence school up until June 2022, according to Rhode Island State Police. He was taken into custody Tuesday following an investigation into “financial irregularities” at UCAP.

The investigation revealed that Kaufman had access to all of UCAP’s financial accounts while working for the school and had transferred $3 million to his bank account for personal use.

Kaufman was arraigned and released on $15,000 surety bail pending his next court date, which is scheduled for Jan. 4.