Former Teacher Jailed for Cheating Students
A former high school Spanish teacher has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after admitting she bilked students out of $80,000 for a trip that left them stranded in Europe.
Vanessa Velez-Cruz, 48, also was ordered Friday to pay restitution of $224,774. Velez-Cruz pleaded guilty to theft, bank fraud, forgery, tax evasion and racketeering charges, some of which involved similar schemes connected with other trips.
The 28 students from St. Thomas Aquinas High School and their chaperons, who had embarked on a two-week tour of Spain, France and Portugal, had to pay $600 apiece to return home.
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