Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Fred Randall, 61, with a last known address of 128 Asylum Road, Warwick, pled nolo contendre to one count of embezzlement from the University of Rhode Island (URI), where he was employed as a fiscal clerk and a senior teller at the College of Continuing Education at the Feinstein Providence Campus. 

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Randall was sentenced to 20 years, with four years to serve and the remainder suspended with probation and ordered to pay full restitution in the amount of $200,000. Sentencing was set for July 1.

As fiscal clerk and later senior teller, Randall collected $200,000 in tuition payments between 2005 and 2011 and prepared all deposits and accompanying documentation. Randall mismatched checks with deposits, allowing him to steal the difference.

“While many students and families struggle to pay for the ever increasing cost of higher education, it is not only illegal, but also immoral and insulting for Fred Randall to siphon money from the university to feed his growing gambling addiction,” said Attorney General Kilmartin.

The Rhode Island State Police Financial Crimes Unit investigated the case. Special Assistant Attorney General Roger Demers prosecuted the case.