Lydia Johnson. (Photo: Macomb County Sheriff's Office) 
 
 Lydia Johnson was trusted to coordinate student events for Dakota High School, including homecoming and a student-parent trip. 
 
 Instead, she was stealing thousands of dollars from the students. And she blew it as part of the more than $90,000 she spent last year playing penny slots at MGM Grand Detroit casino, Macomb County authorities said today. 
 
 A search of her classroom revealed several casino receipts next to the open and empty homecoming envelopes, Prosecutor Eric Smith said in a news release. 
 
 “This teacher held a position of trust within the high school,” he said. “She repaid that trust by feeding student funds into a slot machine.” 
 
 Johnson, 29, of Macomb Township, was this morning in 41-A District Court in Shelby Township on one count of embezzlement from a nonprofit organization, $1,000 to $20,000, a felony that carries up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Her bond was set as a $10,000 personal bond. A probable cause conference was set for Oct. 5 and a preliminary exam was set for Oct. 12, according to the court. 
 
 Johnson was the school's student activity coordinator from July 1, 2016 until her recent removal and was responsible for incoming and outgoing funds related to student events, according to the prosecutor's office. The school is in Macomb Township. 
 
 Johnson was placed on administrative leave May 3 when district administrators discovered some accounting discrepancies in the school's activities fund, according to a news release from Chippewa Valley Schools. Per district policy, Johnson was prohibited from being on any school premises, attending any school events and having contact with any students or staff without prior permission from the administration. 
 
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 School administrators contacted the sheriff's office after discovering the alleged theft. 
 
 "We have committed our full support and cooperation to the Sheriff’s Department and the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office in this investigation. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that our board policies are followed and that our employees are acting in the best interest of our school community,” school Superintendent Ron Roberts said. 
 
 School officials and authorities said Johnson oversaw ticket sales for Dakota's 2016 homecoming dance, which should have taken in nearly $30,000 based on attendance. She only deposited $11,000 into the school's homecoming account, they said. 
 
 A search of her classroom revealed several homecoming cash deposit envelopes that were torn open, but empty. Her bank records show 2016 cash deposits "far in excess of her salary," the prosecutor's office said. 
 
 Johnson also oversaw ticket sales and receipts for a 60-person student and parent trip to Tamarack Camps last year. She should have collected and deposited nearly $13,000 in fees. Only $500 was deposited with the school, authorities said. 
 
 When the camp's repeated attempts to collect were unsuccessful, it contacted school officials. An internal investigation by district officials "yielded more questions than answers" and the sheriff's office was contacted, according to the prosecutor's office. 
 
 “Many of these students will now remember their senior homecoming for all the wrong reasons," Macomb Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said. 
 
 The district said its business office personnel conduct regular internal controls audits, which is one of the ways in which this discrepancy was discovered. 
 
 Officials said the district has an independent auditor that conducts annual accounting reviews, and is in the process of reviewing the district’s internal controls to determine if there are any additional safeguards it can put in place to ensure the district’s funds are not misappropriated. 
 
 The district also maintains a fraud hotline that allows anonymous tips from employees, vendors and community members via a special telephone line and through the district’s website. It can be found at www.chippewavalleyschools.org under the heading fraud hotline. 
 
 Contact Christina Hall: chall99@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/2yfRWAR ||||| - A high school teacher in Macomb County is accused of stealing money from student events and spending it at a casino. 
 
 According to school officials, police, and prosecutors, Lydia Johnson stole several thousand dollars from Dakota High School's homecoming dance fund, and from funds for a camping trip. Johnson, 29 worked as a Spanish teacher at the school and was the student activity coordinator from July 1, 2016 until her recent removal. 
 
 Authorities say Johnson oversaw the ticket sales for Dakota's 2016 Homecoming dance, and that, based on attendance, the ticket sales should have taken in nearly $30,000. Johnson deposited only $11,000 into the school’s Homecoming account. 
 
 School authorities say they found empty homecoming deposit envelopes in her classroom, and that her bank records show cash deposits far in excess of her salary. 
 
 Johnson also oversaw ticket sales and receipts for a 60 person student-and-parent trip to Camp Tamarack. Johnson should have collected and deposited nearly $13,000. Only $500 was deposited with the school. 
 
 When Camp Tamarack’s repeated attempts to collect their money were unsuccessful, they contacted school officials. School officials began to investigate and eventually contacted the Sheriff's Department. 
 
 Moreso, authorities say MGM Casino records show Johnson spent more than $90,000 there in 2016 playing penny slots. School officials say they also found several casino receipts next to the empty homecoming envelopes in her classroom. 
 
 School authorities say she was placed on administrative leave on May 3, 2017. 
 
 Johnson has been charged with one count of Embezzlement from a Non-Profit Organization -- $1,000-$20,000, a felony carrying a statutory maximum of ten years imprisonment. 
 
 Johnson will be arraigned at 41-A District Court, Shelby Township. ||||| Johnson (Photo: Macomb County Sheriff's Office) 
 
 A Macomb County high school teacher is accused of bilking $31,500 from students and spending it a Detroit casino. 
 
 Lydia Christine Johnson, 29, of Macomb Township, was arraigned Thursday in 41-A District Court in Shelby Township on a charge of embezzlement from a nonprofit organization, Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said. 
 
 A judge set her bond at $10,000 and scheduled her next court appearance for Oct. 5. 
 
 If convicted of the felony charge, she faces up to 10 years in prison. 
 
 “This teacher held a position of trust within the high school,” Smith said in a statement. “She repaid that trust by feeding student funds into a slot machine.” 
 
 Johnson is a math and Spanish teacher at Dakota High School in Macomb Township, according to Smith. 
 
 She served as the school's student activity coordinator from July 1, 2016, until her recent removal, the prosecutor said. In the position, Johnson was responsible for all funds for student events, including last year's Homecoming Dance and a trip to a camp. 
 
 Smith said ticket sales for the dance totaled nearly $30,000, but she deposited only $11,000 into the school's Homecoming Dance bank account. Investigators searched Johnson's classroom and found several cash deposit envelopes that were torn open and emptied. They also checked her personal bank account and saw cash deposits far above her salary, he said. 
 
 She also oversaw the collection of $13,000 in fees for a student trip to a camp, officials said. Johnson is accused of depositing only about $500 for the school. 
 
 When the camp was unable to collect its money from the school, its staff contacted the Chippewa Valley Schools district. The district conducted an internal investigation and contacted the Macomb County Sheriff's Office. 
 
 Smith said investigators obtained records from the MGM Grand Detroit casino that showed Johnson spent more than $90,000 on penny slots in 2016. Receipts from the casino were found along with the empty Homecoming Dance envelopes, he said. 
 
 School officials said the district is cooperating with the investigation. 
 
 “We will do whatever it takes to ensure that our board policies are followed and that our employees are acting in the best interest of our school community," said Ron Roberts, the district's superintendent. 
 
 On Thursday, Dakota High School's principal, Paul Sibley, sent a letter to parents informing them of the crime. It didn't name Johnson, but it said a staff member was placed on administrative leave May 3 when the district discovered the accounting discrepancies in the school's activities fund. 
 
 cramirez@detroitnews.com 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/2xjImO7
– Last year, Lydia Johnson is said to have blown $90,000 at the MGM Grand Detroit casino, which would be a lot of your own money to lose, let alone someone else's. And a chunk of it was allegedly someone else's. Macomb County authorities say the 29-year-old Dakota High School teacher handled cash as the student activity coordinator. Based on 2016 homecoming dance attendance records, school officials and authorities say $30,000 or so should have come in, yet the the Detroit Free Press reports Johnson only deposited $11,000 into the school's homecoming account. Prosecutor Eric Smith said in a release that empty envelopes believed to have held homecoming cash were found in her classroom, with casino receipts nearby. Meanwhile, Johnson deposited just $500 for a student-parent trip to Tamarack Camps that should have brought in about $13,000. School officials uncovered things were amiss after Tamarack Camps started trying to collect money it was owed; the school then contacted the sheriff's office. Per WJBK, MGM Grand Detroit records indicated Johnson spent more than $90,000 on penny slots during 2016. Smith says when her personal bank account was examined, it showed deposits that would have been far and above what she made as a math and Spanish teacher at the school. Johnson was placed on administrative leave in early May, with the grand total she's accused of stealing running close to $32,000, the Detroit News reports. She now faces a felony charge of embezzlement from a nonprofit, which could earn her 10 years in prison if she's convicted.