Principal resigns after being scammed into sending $100k check to Elon Musk impersonator

vt-author-image

By Nasima Khatun

Article saved!Article saved!

A principal has been left with no choice but to resign after she was scammed into sending a $100,000 check to an Elon Musk impersonator.

Jan McGee stepped down from her position at Burns Science and Technology in Florida after she cut a massive check from school funds to a scammer who was pretending to be the South African billionaire.

According to the Daily Mail, the scammer allegedly offered the principal millions in investment at the school for the exchange and despite being warned repeatedly by school administrators that this was more than likely a fraud, McGee sent the check anyway.

Fortunately, the school's business manager, Brent Appy, caught on just in time and canceled the payment before any of the money was taken, though that didn't stop the backlash against the principal.

During a board meeting on Tuesday, concerned parents gathered together to question how a person holding such an important position in the school's system could be so careless and gullible with school funds.

Not only were parents left outraged, but staffers who also attended the meeting - including a board member who refused to work with McGee after the incident - called for the head to vacate her role after holding it since 2011.

"I love this school more than anything else," McGee says in the footage of the meeting. "If it means your administration is going to stay, I'm turning in my resignation."

The principal is met with a round of applause as she puts the mic down and leaves the building.

Burns Science and Technology is hailed as one of the best educational establishments in the area, with a long line of hopefuls waiting to be part of the 1,000-student rank.

The announcement, which was first reported by NBC's affiliate channel WESH 2 News, comes following other concerns about a "toxic work environment" which other employees pointed out but this scamming issue seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Even though there was no harm done in the end thanks to the business manager's intervention, it seems as though the thought alone was enough to anger the masses - which subsequently gave McGee no choice but to step back from her position.

According to an FBI crime report, more than $10.2 billion was lost last year due to fraudulent activities, an increase from $6.9 billion lost in 2021.

They added that if a business investment proposal sounds too good to be true, then it is more than likely just a scam.

Featured Image Credit: AC NewsPhoto / Alamy