ARISE Schools, New Orleans

ARISE Schools in New Orleans lost $9,341 in a debit card theft by an employee between March and June of 2014, according to an audit report released Monday by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera.

ARISE is a nonprofit organization that runs ARISE Academy at Charles Drew Elementary School and Mildred Osborne Charter School. The audit was performed by the certified public accounting firm of Carr, Riggs and Ingram of Metairie.

The report said that ARISE was able to “recover nearly all the stolen funds through insurance claims less its deductible, resulting in a net loss to ARISE of approximately $1,000.”

The employee involved with the theft, who was not identified, was terminated immediately, the report said. It said that ARISE got its bank to deactivate the debit card used in the theft and issue a new card; told its board of directors of the incident; and filed a report with the New Orleans Police Department and a claim with its insurer.

The police department has arrested the former employee, according to the report, and the insurance company is “seeking restitution” for what it paid in claims as a result of the theft.