A University of Colorado investigation has found that an employee engaged in financial misconduct and cost the Boulder campus $9,502 in lost funds, one of a number of fiscal misconduct violations revealed in university audits in the past year.

The employee, who has since resigned, worked in a leadership role overseeing the financial operations of a large department at CU Boulder, according to a quarterly audit report.

The employee was also found to have violated two additional university policies. CU System spokesperson Michele Ames declined to identify the person or provide more information, citing attorney-client privilege.

The investigation finding was part of an internal quarterly audit report presented to the University of Colorado Board of Regents Audit Committee during its meeting on Wednesday. CU also provided the committee with an update on the audit investigations that took place during the 2025 fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30.

CU had four investigations that substantiated fiscal misconduct and five that substantiated policy violations in fiscal year 2025, according to an annual audit report. Ames provided additional information on six of the nine cases, declining to provide information on the remaining three, citing attorney-client privilege.Hank Scott, a lecturer at CU Boulder, was found to have engaged in fiscal misconduct and violated policies on ethical behavior, code of conduct and signature authority when he intended to obtain an unauthorized benefit through forgery, according to Ames. Ames said Scott submitted unauthorized grant proposals on behalf of his personal business, listing CU Boulder as a sub-awardee, resulting in a possible loss or reputational damage to the university.

Jenifer Blacklock, a faculty program director at CU Boulder, engaged in financial misconduct when she facilitated extra pay for her spouse from a partner university without disclosure or authorization from CU, according to Ames. Blacklock was found to have violated policies of conflict of interest and professional responsibilities.

Scott and Blacklock are no longer university employees, according to Ames.

Ebony Jones, a Children’s Hospital of Colorado employee working at CU Anschutz, misappropriated $88,700 of CU funds by paying her personal business through university procurement cards directly or through her subordinates, according to Ames. This case was referred to the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The office will prosecute Jones on one count of forgery, one count of felony theft and one count of unlawful use of a financial transaction device.

Jones is no longer employed at Children’s Hospital Colorado, according to CU Anschutz Media Relations Director Julia Milzer. Milzer wrote in an email to the Daily Camera that the campus takes these situations seriously and “are reviewing our internal processes to ensure the strongest safeguards are in place to prevent this from happening again.”

The remaining three cases Ames provided information about involved employees at CU Boulder who violated various university policies, such as ethics, travel authorization and conflict of interest but who did not engage in financial misconduct. Two of the three are still employed at CU Boulder.

The most common policies violated in fiscal year 2025 were university policies on ethical and professional conduct, fiscal misconduct, code of conduct, fiscal code of ethics and conflict of interest in research and teaching, according to the annual audit report.

CU has a platform called CU EthicsLine where people can report concerns and suspected misconduct on any campus. The number of reports submitted to CU EthicsLine in fiscal year 2025 increased by 4.8% compared to the year prior, with an average of 12.5 reports filed per month across all campuses. Cases are closed on average within 44 days. The percentage of substantiated reports remains the same as last year, and the majority of reports the university receives are unsubstantiated.

Potential violations fall under categories of academic and research integrity, business integrity, environmental health and safety, or human resources. Examples of violations include research misconduct, falsification of records, theft or embezzlement, substance abuse, discrimination and sexual harassment.