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Faculty Spouse Pleads Guilty To Theft of Public Money

Last Thursday, Graeme Griffith pled guilty to the theft of over $149,000 in government benefits over the course of 11 years. Graeme Griffith is the husband of Linda Carter Griffith, Dean of the Office of Community and Multicultural Development (CAMD), Instructor in English and incoming Associate Head of School for Equity and Inclusion. “I support him, and I am standing by him. He is a good father, a life partner and he needs me. We are a family,” said Linda Carter Griffith. “We have always kept our finances separate,” she continued. “I knew nothing about this before the courts contacted my husband.” The Griffiths have lived on campus in faculty housing together since their marriage 21 years ago. They currently reside in Davison House, a faculty house that is not a student dormitory. Linda Carter Griffith continued, “I will not let this affect my professional life in any way… I remain deeply committed to my work here at Andover, and I hope that my family situation will not be a distraction for others.” Graeme Griffith’s father died in 2003, but Graeme Griffith continued to receive his deceased father’s monthly Social Security benefits from 2003 to 2014, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. The benefits totaled $149,285. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered after Graeme Griffith’s guilty plea on Thursday, January 22, 2015. The sentencing hearing is scheduled to occur on April 16, 2015. Graeme Griffith has since resigned from his position as an academic counselor at North Shore Community College. “We’ll take it when it comes. We’ll prepare as best we can at this point,” said Linda Carter Griffith. “We’re very hopeful that this will end in the best case scenario that it can. There is a long road ahead, but I’m going to put on my running shoes, hiking boots, snow boots… We’re going to get there.” “My work is actually, in many ways, a salvation. I love my job, and I think these are also times when you take every blessing you have, and you are grateful for it. Coming to work each and every day remains a joy — it is my life’s passion, my life’s work,” she said. Linda Carter Griffith said she has received kindness and support from students, alumni and other faculty members. “I am incredibly grateful… It’s tough, but I’ve been feeling the support of others, and I never knew that that made as much of a difference as it does… My colleagues in the [CAMD] office have been phenomenal.”