A University of California San Francisco (UCSF) administrator has been sentenced to 20 months in prison after stealing $1.5m in tuition payments as she “spiraled into the depths” of gambling and drugs.

taking a variety of ‘designer’ or party drugs and gambl[ing] away all of her savings”

According to court filings, 55-year-old Sandra “Sandi” Eileen Le held a job at the UCSF School of Nursing. While Le maintained a controlled persona at work, when she wasn’t working, she was taking “a variety of ‘designer’ or party drugs and gambl[ing] away all of her savings.”

From 2013 to 2019, Le deposited nearly 300 student tuition checks into her personal bank account. The administrator is said to have told students to make the checks in her name or to give her money. Le also asked students to write checks out to RSG Fine Jewelry, a business of which Le was a regular customer.?

In addition to using the money for gambling and drugs, Le spent the stolen money on expensive trips, jewelry, purses, and home improvements.

It wasn’t until 2019, though, that auditors started questioning the finances of the School of Nursing’s post-master program. When auditors asked to look at Le’s work-related data, she left, claiming she was sick, and never returned.

Le was sentenced on three counts of wire fraud.