Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard, III, announced today that former Assistant Superintendent for Worcester County Public Schools, Denise R. Shorts, pled guilty today to one count of felony theft scheme over $100,000. Following her guilty plea, Shorts was sentenced by the Honorable S. James Sarbanes to a total of ten years of incarceration, with all but five years suspended, followed by three years of supervised probation.
According to the statement of facts read into the record, Shorts, who served as the Chief Academic Officer, also known as the Assistant Superintendent, for Worcester County Public Schools (“WCPS”) from 2019 through 2025, misused a WCPS Purchase Card, commonly referred to as a “P-card”, to make $118,741.89 in personal purchases from Amazon. For example, Shorts used the P-Card to purchase clothing, shoes, makeup, and other beauty supplies; pool and exercise equipment for her home; supplies and technology for a learning center that she owned in Berlin, Maryland; and furniture and décor for a vacation home in Florida.
Shorts subsequently submitted invoices she physically altered in support of those purchases. Shorts printed her Amazon receipt and subsequently cut out and taped a different item description or shipping address over the actual Amazon item description or shipping address. Shorts then copied the altered invoice and included it with her monthly P-Card statement for submission to the WCBOE finance department. Shorts signed each monthly statement affirming its accuracy, and wrote financial codes on the receipts, to direct the finance department to the specific account or grant from which the funds for the purchase should be deducted.
Shorts falsely indicated that $84,365.82 of the purchases made from Amazon were to benefit elementary schools entitled to Title I grant funds, resulting in those schools losing those funds. Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, is a grant intended to provide supplemental financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families, and to provide all children with the opportunity to receive a fair and high-quality education.
According to the statement of facts, Shorts further admitted that during a routine audit by the Office of Legislative Audits, discrepancies with Shorts’s P-Card were discovered and in response, she submitted fake personal credit card statements to claim that the Amazon purchases were made using her own credit card.
“Our office remains committed to holding accountable anyone who abuses a position of public trust” said Howard, “including individuals who enrich themselves for personal gain at the expense of the community members they are entrusted to serve.”
Mr. Howard thanked and commended Assistant State Prosecutor Abigail Ticse, Deputy State Prosecutor Sarah David, and Special Agent Jeffrey Stauder for their work on this case, and also thanked the Maryland State Police, Berlin Barracks, and the State Office of Legislative Audits for their work and assistance with the investigation.
