OSU Buyer Allegedly Dropped Funds on Sex Toys, Videogames

June 28, 2010 -

People spending other people’s money just can’t seem to stop themselves from buying videogames.

NewsOK carries the story of 44-year old Cynthia Low, a former Senior Financial Assistant in Oklahoma State University's chemistry department, who apparently used school funds to procure Nintendo Wii games, women’s undergarments, jewelry and a variety of sex toys.

Low left her position after hints of impropriety, but it appears tax payers may be on the hook for the tens of thousands in illicit purchases, as OSU officials said they had no choice but to pay the bills for the items.

In her position Low routinely purchased laboratory and office supplies adding up to over $10,000 per month. OSU said that it is investigating the matter and that it would not “tolerate this type of action.”

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Comments

Re: OSU Buyer Allegedly Dropped Funds on Sex Toys, ...

Submitted by matthew_m_g on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 08:58.

Wii Games, sex toys, and lingerie?...at least Cynthia Low sounds like a fun date.

Re: OSU Buyer Allegedly Dropped Funds on Sex Toys, ...

Submitted by MonkeyPeaches on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 19:57.

$10,000 a month? What a stupid dildo.

Re: OSU Buyer Allegedly Dropped Funds on Sex Toys, ...

Submitted by Thad on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 16:29.

"In her position Low routinely purchased laboratory and office supplies adding up to over $10,000 per month. OSU said that it is investigating the matter and that it would not “tolerate this type of action.”"

Putting those two sentences back-to-back is a bit misleading; the article states that the $10,000 per month on lab equipment was legitimate. That's probably how she managed to get away with tacking on personal purchases; $50 here or there can easily go unnoticed if you're already spending $10,000. Looks like she was ripping them off for about 6 months before they canned her. If she'd managed to keep her purchases small, she probably could have gotten away with it indefinitely -- but as Kojiro pointed out, she was clearly a spending addict; if she had the discipline to keep her purchases small, she wouldn't have been defrauding her employer in the first place.

Re: OSU Buyer Allegedly Dropped Funds on Sex Toys, ...

Submitted by Kojiro on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 16:05.

Sounds like she had a spending problem. From the article:

Many of the questionable transactions on Low's university credit card began about nine months after she and her husband emerged from personal bankruptcy, records show.

The couple filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in June 2008, listing $158,732 in debt.

More than $18,000 of that debt was to credit card companies, bankruptcy records show.

Shout box

Technogeek: If the developer were male there wouldn't have been a "conversation" in the first place.10/19/2014 - 2:27am

Monte: trolls are just at their absolute worst when it comes to women and feminist. You could bet good money that if the developer were male the trolls would be silent and the conversation would actually focus on the journalism.10/18/2014 - 9:18pm

Monte: Papa: Not the first time we've had a journalism scandals before, but the harassment never got close to this level; the difference with this scandal is that feminists are involved. Without the feminist angle, their would be A LOT less harrassment10/18/2014 - 9:15pm

Papa Midnight: Monte: That's honestly rather short-sighted. As has been proven with other persons who have been targeted, if it wasn't Quinn, it would be someone else.10/18/2014 - 6:26pm

Avalongod: I think that's part of what gives an esoteric news story like this real life...it taps into a larger narrative about misogyny in society outside of games.10/18/2014 - 3:29pm

Avalongod: @Monte, well the trolls made death threats that came to police (and media attention). I think this is tapping into a larger issue outside of games about how women are treated in society (like all the "real rape" stuff during the last election)10/18/2014 - 3:28pm

Wonderkarp: Zippy : Havent tried the PS4 controller. might later.10/18/2014 - 2:37pm

Monte: Seirously, If Quinn was not involved and GG was instead about something like the Mordor Marketing contracts, the trolling would have never grown so vile and disgusting. There have been plenty of movements in the past that never sufferred from behavior..10/18/2014 - 1:57pm

Monte: We have seen scandel's before but the trolling has never been as vile as what we see with GG. Trolls usually have such a tiny voice you can barely notice them, but its like moths to a flame whenever femistist are involved.10/18/2014 - 1:53pm

ZippyDSMlee: Wonderkarp: You might be able to if you had a PS4 controller.10/18/2014 - 1:00pm

MaskedPixelante: http://store.steampowered.com/app/327940/ Night Dive starts charging for freeware.10/18/2014 - 12:21pm

Matthew Wilson: the sad thing is there are trolls on both sides of this. people need to stop acting like their side is so pure.10/18/2014 - 12:19pm

MechaTama31: So, only speak out on a scandal that hasn't attracted trolls? I wouldn't hold my breath...10/18/2014 - 10:49am

Monte: I feel like GG just needs to die. The movement is FAR to tainted by hatred and BS for it to be useful for any conversation. Let GG die, and then rally behind the NEXT gaming journalism scandal, and start the conversation fresh.10/18/2014 - 10:33am

quiknkold: and we dont have a Dovakin to call a cease fire10/17/2014 - 7:37pm

quiknkold: The whole thing is Futile. Both sides are so buried deep in their trenchs that there isnt a conversation. Its just Finger Pointing, Name Calling, Doxxing, Threats. there needs to be a serious conversation, and GG isnt it.10/17/2014 - 7:37pm

quiknkold: I thought it was a good article. Jeff is right. I feel like GamerGate did destroy its message. I am for Ethics in game journalism, but man. so much hate. and its on both sides. I've seen some awful stuff spewed on twitter. Its a big reason why I exited..10/17/2014 - 7:34pm

Matthew Wilson: while he focused on gg, he did call out both sides crap.10/17/2014 - 7:18pm

Papa Midnight: That was a damn good read offered by Jeff Gertsmann.10/17/2014 - 7:17pm

Matthew Wilson: http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/letter-from-the-editor-10-17-2014/1100-5049/ deferentially a nice write up.10/17/2014 - 6:44pm

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