A Twin City real estate developer has been arrested and charged with allegedly embezzling money from a Bloomington language academy.
Rathnakumar Ramachandran, 51, of Bloomington, is accused of stealing up to $500,000 over a four-year period.
Prosecutors charged Ramachandran with theft greater than $100,000 and less than $500,000, a Class 1 felony. If convicted, he could face a possible 4-15 year prison sentence and fines of up to $25,000. Ramachandran is additionally charged with Class 2 felony theft.
Open since 2015, the Dr. Abdul Kalam Tamil Palli offers Tamil classes to children aged 3-10. Tamil is a South Asian language spoken in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia.
A grand jury returned an indictment on Jan. 28. Ramachandran was arrested Thursday and has since been released from McLean County custody awaiting trail. His next court date is Feb. 13.
Public tax filings list the nonprofit school's gross annual receipts as less than $50,000. The school's phone number has been disconnected and an email was not returned.
Ramachandran is a longtime Bloomington resident and housing developer, whose recent projects include a 58-unit townhome development in southwest Bloomington that was expected to break ground this summer.
