Two California school employees were arrested after a massive Costco breakfast order tipped off administrators to a nearly $300,000 embezzlement scheme at a Monterey County charter school.
Terry Bumper, 42, the former food services director at the International School of Monterey in Seaside, placed the suspicious bulk order for eggs, bacon, and potatoes that first raised red flags, according to Seaside Police. A school administrator flagged the exorbitant purchase, launching an investigation that uncovered Bumper had allegedly diverted $58,800 in school funds to stock his personal catering business, Flava 2 You, which he launched in 2023.
The probe into Bumper’s alleged kitchen rental scheme and misappropriated food orders led detectives to a far larger fraud. Chief Financial Officer Rosa Segura, 45, had allegedly siphoned more than $238,000 from school coffers for personal luxuries including vacations, restaurants, spas, and online shopping, authorities said. Segura was arrested for felony embezzlement on Oct. 22.
Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges did not mince words about the scale of the thefts. “There’s something about this level of theft that really gets under my skin… You are ripping off not just the school, not just the kids; it’s taxpayer dollars — you are ripping everybody off,” he told the Los Angeles Times. Borges added that Segura “made Bumper look like a saint the way she was ripping off the school.”
Bumper’s legal troubles began earlier. He was arrested for felony embezzlement on Sept. 24, and the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office formally filed felony embezzlement charges against him on Oct. 20. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and posted $20,000 bail.
The former food director pushed back against the allegations in an interview with Monterey County NOW. “I did everything I could for them kids, and I would never steal from them kids,” Bumper said. He denied routing any funds to his private catering business and claimed his only responsibility was ordering food for the school. According to Bumper, his coworker Segura held final approval over all orders.
Investigators have not yet determined whether the two employees collaborated or were aware of each other’s alleged schemes. The overlapping timing of their arrests — Bumper in September, Segura in October — and the interconnected nature of their financial roles at the school have left detectives working to untangle whether the frauds were independent operations or part of a coordinated effort.
The International School of Monterey, a charter school serving the Central Coast community, now faces the task of recovering funds and rebuilding financial oversight after the dual betrayal by two trusted administrators. The case has drawn sharp attention from local law enforcement and parents alike, with Borges emphasizing that public education dollars were directly victimized by both schemes.
Bumper’s catering venture, Flava 2 You, launched the same year investigators say his misuse of school resources began, raising questions about whether the business was built in part on diverted institutional support. His alleged practice of renting out the school’s commercial kitchens for private profit added another layer of unauthorized commercial activity on campus grounds.
Segura’s spending pattern — vacations, dining, spa treatments, and online purchases — painted a portrait of sustained personal enrichment at taxpayer expense, authorities indicated. Her position as chief financial officer gave her access and authority that dwarfed Bumper’s operational role in the food services department.
The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office is pursuing felony embezzlement charges against both defendants as the investigation continues.