The former Gary Community Schools superintendent has been charged with double-billing the district for about $1,200 in expenses.
Lake County prosecutors filed felony theft and official misconduct charges on Friday against Cheryl Pruitt. She resigned as superintendent in February after a state-appointed emergency manager took over the district as it faced more than $100 million in debt.
The criminal charges allege Pruitt was reimbursed about $1,500 for expenses to a 2016 education conference in Los Angeles, but then submitted many of those same expense a second time for a $1,200 payment.
Court documents say Pruitt told an investigator the double-billing wasn't done intentionally.
No phone number could be located to contact Pruitt for comment and online court records didn't list an attorney for her on Saturday.