Rebecca Dean, a pediatric occupational therapist from Bridgewater, New Jersey, has officially lost her license after being caught defrauding two school districts out of a shocking amount of money.
She was supposed to help kids in need, but instead, she took advantage of the system for her own gain.
Understandably, her actions have left many people upset and disappointed.
The New Jersey Department of Education took her license away after discovering what she did.
Dean was given plenty of chances to respond to the charges or explain her side, but she didn’t.
So, the board revoked her certification, effective immediately, saying her behavior was wrong and illegal.
Of course, this didn’t all come out of nowhere.
In 2018, Dean owned a business called Tiny Tots Therapy in Scotch Plains.
While running that business, she submitted fake invoices to the Edison school district, claiming she had provided student therapy services.
But those services never happened.
She took over $75,000 from those invoices and used the money for herself and her business.
Once the fraud in Edison came to light, it triggered a deeper investigation.
That’s when the East Brunswick school district realized they had also been scammed.
Dean had been sending them monthly invoices for services she never provided for ten years.
And by the time they figured it out, the district had paid her more than $200,000.
This was revealed in 2021 when East Brunswick audited its finances after the charges in Edison were made public.
In October 2022, Dean admitted to her crimes by pleading guilty to theft by deception.
A few months later, in June 2023, she was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay over $704,000 in restitution.
This money is meant to go back to the Edison and East Brunswick school districts through the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
In addition to the financial penalty, Dean was banned from working in New Jersey public schools.
The Office of Student Protection flagged her criminal conviction as a reason why she could no longer work around students or manage public funds.
And the education board clearly stated why they revoked her license.
They said her actions showed she wasn’t fit to be an educator.
By faking invoices and stealing money meant for kids, she violated the trust placed in her and the standards expected from someone in her role.
The board said her actions were so serious that taking her license away was the right thing to do.
What’s surprising is that Dean didn’t even try to defend herself.
The board contacted her several times and asked her to explain why her license shouldn’t be revoked.
But she never responded.
Because of that, the board concluded that the evidence against her was undeniable and moved forward with their decision.
This case is upsetting for many reasons.
First, it’s sad to think about how many kids might have missed out on real therapy because of Dean’s actions.
Schools trust professionals like her to provide services that help students, and every dollar wasted on fraud is a dollar that could have gone toward education.
It’s also frustrating to see how long her scam went on.
Over the years, she fooled two school districts into paying her hundreds of thousands for services she never delivered.
This shows how important it is for schools to carefully review where their money is going and make sure it’s being spent the right way.
The money Dean was ordered to repay will help the districts recover some of their losses, but the damage goes beyond just finances.
Trust has been broken, and it will take time to rebuild that trust.
Her case is a reminder of what can happen when someone abuses their position of trust.
Now that her license has been revoked, Dean can no longer work as an occupational therapist in New Jersey.
This protects schools and students from further harm, and such actions will not be tolerated.
Schools already have enough challenges, and those trusted to support them must be held accountable if they act unethically.