Nearly $180K disappeared from a Mercer County school district in possible wire fraud scam

💻 A school district in Mercer County was targeted in an apparent wire fraud scam

⏳ School officials said the suspicious payments went unnoticed for over a year

🚔 School district not expected to suffer financial loss, school officials said

PRINCETON — It looks like Princeton Public Schools was the victim of wire fraud, scammed out of nearly $180,000, according to school board officials and as reported by NJ.com.

Wire fraud suspected during Princeton school construction projects

Princeton Board of Education President Dafna Kendal talked about the incident during a BOE meeting on Jan. 6.

ALSO READ: Inside the must-see 2026 Philadelphia Flower Show 

Kendal said that in September 2024, while the school district was undergoing construction projects, they received an email from a vendor asking "to wire three separate payments."

She said the payments, totaling $178,000, were wired.

Kendal did not reveal the name of the vendor during the meeting.

Vendor flags missing payments more than a year later

Kendal said that in December 2025, the vendor called looking for payment. She said it was at this point that officials realized something wasn't right.

A police report was filed after consulting the board council, Kendal said.

"And while we can’t get into additional details, the board is confident that we are not out  those funds, but the vendor is out those funds.”

School board says district unlikely to lose taxpayer money

Kendal emphasized that although the incident occurred in September 2024, the school board did not learn about the missing funds until roughly 15 months later, in early December 2025.

“Right now, it doesn’t look like the district suffered the loss,” Kendal said.

Kendal finished her statement by saying they will keep the public updated on the matter.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom