Shark Researcher Jailed Over Fraud - Meredith Censullo Bradenton Police

A professor seen on 'SharkFest' and other nature shows has been arrested and accused of putting the bite on a shark research nonprofit. Police in Bradenton say Georgia Southern professor Christine Bedore ripped off the American Elasmobranch Society for at least $300,000, using the organization's money to pay for a car, medical procedures, entertainment, travel and pet insurance among other personal items. We speak with Bradenton police PIO Meredith Censullo about the charges.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Gordon Bird. Here Beyond the Newscrime story with a twist in Bradenton,
where a biology professor from Georgia who'salso a researcher who's done a lot of
work with sharks over the years,is facing fraud charges because Bradenton police say
she ripped off a nonprofit organization dedicatedto shark and stingray research. We're speaking

(00:22):
with Bradenton Police Public Information Officer MeredithSensulo about the case. Meredith, welcome
to Beyond the News. Thanks forhaving me. First, if you could
tell us about the suspect and herbackground and her ties to the organization she's
accused of defrauding sure. Her nameis Christine Badour. She is a professor

(00:44):
at the at Georgia Southern University.She has her PhD. And she actually
specializes in research specific to sharks andshark vision and she's done this for quite
some time. Four years old,and apparently she has been a member of
this nonprofit organization for many many years. It's the American Elasma Brank Society,

(01:11):
and basically it is dedicated to supportingthe work of students and researchers in their
marine biology studies. They also providemoney to students and other researchers so that
they can continue their research. Andso Christine since twenty eighteen was the treasurer

(01:33):
of the nonprofit organization, and itwas determined, or was actually found out
by chance, honestly, in Novemberof twenty twenty three, that she had
actually been illegally transferring money out ofthe accounts that were meant for that nonprofit
and she was using them for herown personal gain. And so that's when

(01:57):
our investigation started. Because the AmericanElasma Branch Society doesn't have a physical address,
but they do have a post officebox here in Bradenton, and that's
why we were involved in that investigation. So it sounds like once your detectives
got involved in the case, theydiscovered to quite extensive fraud and misuse of

(02:20):
the organization's resources. Right, Sowe actually did several months worth of subpoena's
financial records and our detective detective MichaelCarpenter, was able to determine that for
more than five years, she madea number of electronic transfers and transactions and

(02:42):
all totaled, we're looking at atleast three hundred thousand dollars that was actually
meant for this nonprofit organization, andof that three hundred thousand dollars, it
was used for her own personal expenses, medical expenses, there was a down
payment on a vehicle, personal subscriptionservices, utilities, pet insurance, airplane

(03:06):
tickets, entertainment, and the listgoes on and on. But in addition
to that, the documents also showsthat she purchased items for her own laboratory
research. So that's including specimens andvarious equipment that she was actually using in
her lab. And all of thatwas unauthorized use of funds on behalf of

(03:30):
the American Elasma Brank Society. Sowe're looking at all that money that was
meant for students to continue their researchor to support research projects, and all
of that is gone now because unfortunatelydoctor Badour prioritize her own personal, you

(03:51):
know, needs, above that ofthe scientific community which she's a part of
now. She I understand also somepeople might have recognized her or maybe seen
her on television because she did somework associated with the Shark Week series on
National Geographic Right, So it's actuallyshe was on a part of National Geographic

(04:14):
Shark Fest. So I don't wantto upset the Discovery Channel, folks.
But actually I spoke with a fellowresearcher who said she may have actually also
done that. So I think she'sdone a lot of outreach, and she's
appeared on quite a few you know, broadcast specials and stories about her research
into sharks. So National Geographic wasone of them, The History Channel,

(04:38):
the BBC all related to her specialty, which is this particular area of study
with sharks. So you know,she's an intelligent person. But like I
said, she instead of promoting herscience, she instead, you know,
decided to take care of herself first, instead of helping other you know,

(05:00):
young students who are coming up andtrying to get into the same field as
her. Now, our detectives atthis point keeping open the possibility that they
might uncover more instances of fraud here. We still have some outstanding subpoenas.
So the figure at this point,the total number, we put it at

(05:21):
at least three hundred thousand dollars.We don't have a final CALLI just yet,
because you know, financial records andthere were numerous accounts, so we're
talking about bank accounts, but alsoyou know electronic transaction accounts, you know,
just payment programs that people use everyday as part of their usual lives,

(05:42):
so you know, we're looking throughall of those records as well as
you know, various stores and otherservices. So all of that takes time,
so it's entirely possible the number willgo up as we continue to get
some of those remaining subpoenas in I'msure that it's a case we'll continue to
follow and it certainly has its uniqueaspects to it. Brightonton Police Public Information

(06:06):
Officer Meredith and Solo, thank youvery much for joining us on Beyond the
News. Thanks for having me