MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. -- An employee of Michigan City Area Schools is facing one count of Fraud after allegedly using almost $4,000 of the district's money for unapproved personal use via a company credit card in early 2025.

Case documents show Nicole Santana is charged with one count of Fraud where Loss is between $750 and $50,000, a Level 6 Felony.

Santana has a dispositional hearing scheduled for Oct. 26.

According to the probable cause affidavit, on May 1, 2025, an officer with the Michigan City Police Department responded to the Michigan City Area Schools Administration building for a theft report.

Both the HR Director and the Chief Financial Officer explained Santana, an employee, had been given a company credit card in March 2024 and there had been an ongoing issue with her not uploading receipts from the usage of the credit card.

The district officials also noted there were many instances of questionable purchases and misappropriated funds.

The officer was then shown multiple receipts from Meijer which showed multiple purchases of alcohol, groceries in the household amount, and other items not approved usages of the district's funds.

District officials also showed the officer usages of the card by Santana which totaled hundreds of dollars for meals from bars in New Carlisle.

One of the notes for the usage of the credit card was "employee morale" for a restaurant and bar in Hobart, Indiana.

The HR Director told police she first noticed the charges on April 29, 2025, and confronted Santana five days later. Santana allegedly told her she recently discovered the credit card was connected to her Apple Wallet, and that she was "going to get with her" when she realized but didn't until the confrontation.

The total amount of misappropriated funds was $3,986.11.

The HR Director and CFO stated they were unsure about seeking criminal charges but needed a report to contact and show the State Board of Accounts.

You can read the full State Board of Accounts audit of the district below: