Former UConn professor arrested for using university funding for personal trip files civil action lawsuit against former employer
STORRS, Conn. (WTNH) — Sherry Zane, the UConn professor who was arrested for allegedly using university funding for personal trips filed a civil action lawsuit against her former employer.
The investigation found that Zane allegedly used university funding to pay for 19 trips between June 2021 and December 2023, including trips to Disney World, Chicago and Ireland. Zane allegedly provided false or misleading information on travel forms that she submitted.
The lawsuit contains four complaints against university employees, including UConn President Radenka Maric, Provost Anne D’Alleva, Director of University Compliance Kimberly Hill and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Ofer Harel.
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The lawsuit alleges that Maric, D’Alleva and Harel violated the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment and the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
The lawsuit also alleges that Hill, acting on UConn’s behalf, engaged in the tort of Defamation Per Se and that the university violated state law, which prohibits confiscation of wages or failure to pay wages.
Zane is arguing that UConn “forced her to withhold and sequestered in an unrestricted amount” and that she had to “earn her wages twice over.”
Zane claims that the university owes her over $80,000 in wages and reputational damages arising from the alleged defamation.
The former professor argued that the university “supplied defamatory statements to the Hartford Courant.”
“Defendant Kimberly Hill intentionally defamed and published false statements in order to ruin the reputation of Professor Zane and get her arrested for ‘larceny’ due to Professor Zane’s insistence that she be paid her own rightfully earned wages,” the lawsuit read.
Zane is seeking an injunction against the defendants, demanding her “improperly held wages” and seeking reinstatement.
News 8 reached out to UConn for a statement.
“The university does not comment on pending litigation, especially during the course of ongoing personnel action with the claimant,” Stephanie Reitz, a spokesperson for UConn said.
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