Former Beverly Hills school official’s conviction overturned
A panel of appellate court judges has overturned the 2011 conviction on conflict-of-interest charges of a former Beverly Hills Unified School District official.
In addition to directing that all charges against Karen Anne Christiansen be dismissed, the panel also vacated her four-year prison sentence and the approximately $3.5-million restitution payment that L.A. County Superior Court judge Stephen A. Marcus had ordered her to make.
Christiansen, 55, the district’s former planning and facilities director, had been convicted on four counts of conflict-of-interest charges for taking more than $1.3 million through a contract she steered to herself.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said she encouraged school officials to borrow money for a building campaign while she planned to direct the management contract to herself.
Her company, Strategic Concepts, began drawing more than $200,000 a month until she was fired, according to the district attorney’s office.
On appeal, Christiansen’s attorneys argued that the code under which she had been charged did not apply because she was a consultant and independent contractor to the district, not a member, officer or employee.
She had previously worked as an employee, but that status changed in 2006.
[For the record, 8:35 a.m., June 4: An earlier version of this post incorreectly stated that an appellate judge overturned the conviction of former Beverly Hills Unified School District employee Karen Anne Christiansen. In fact, it was a panel of appellate judges. The post also incorrectly stated that Judge Stephen A. Marcus was the appellate judge who overturned the conviction. Marcus is the Los Angeles County Superior Court judge who sentenced Christiansen to four years in prison and ordered her to pay $3.5 million in restitution. The appellate panel vacated those orders and said all charges against her should be dismissed.]
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Twitter: @MarthaGroves
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