Police have detained the head of a kindergarten in western Moscow on suspicion of stealing more than $32,000 intended for the kindergarten's janitor.
According to a police source, the unidentified woman defrauded Kindergarten No. 1844 in Moscow's Novo-Peredelkino district by pocketing a salary nominally paid to the kindergarten's janitor, who was never hired, Interfax reported.
The woman's scheme went unnoticed for as long as 15 years before police got wind of the ruse. The woman is meant to have divided the nonexistent janitor's salary with an accomplice, who was also detained, the news agency said.
In total, police estimate that the woman stole just over 1 million rubles ($32,000) since 1997. Investigators have opened a criminal case over the theft.
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