Former school director stole nearly $100K to pay for spa treatments, jewelry, Botox: docs

INDIANAPOLIS — Charges have been filed against a former employee of Heritage Christian School who is accused of using her school credit card to pay for spa treatments, expensive jewelry and other personal expenses.

According to court documents, 54-year-old Angela Ruiz-Pearce faces the following preliminary charges:

• Fraud (Level 5 Felony)
• Theft (Level 6 Felony)

Investigation, arrest

On Feb. 13, 2026, police were called to 6401 E. 75th Street, the listed address for Heritage Christian School on Indy’s northeast side, to conduct a fraud investigation.

One of the responding officers met and spoke with an employee who informed them that he believed Ruiz-Pearce, a former employee of the school, was using a credit card supplied by the school for her personal use and submitting fraudulent receipts.

Ruiz-Pearce worked as the school’s academic director and was responsible for managing the school’s expenses for textbooks, instructional materials and teacher training. Police learned that Ruiz-Pearce worked at the school between January 2024 and February of this year.

During that time, she was issued a company credit card from the school that was only meant to be used for school-related purchases.

Pearce’s last day working at the school was Feb. 9. The school also reported finding $30,000 in personal purchases within 10 hours of her dismissal, court documents said.

The school said it canceled the suspect’s credit card and proceeded to conduct an internal investigation and audit after flagging the fraudulent charges. This process led to the realization that Ruiz-Pearce had allegedly submitted false receipts to justify her credit card expenses. The employee told detectives that the amount of fraudulent charges was estimated to be close to $200,000.

As the investigation unfolded, detectives highlighted multiple transactions at Jem MedSpa in Munster amounting to over $30,000 between July 5, 2025, and Feb. 9. Pearce had allegedly noted in the “Purchase Notes” that the expenses were for “training and STEM kits,” court documents said.

A school employee told detectives that Pearce had documented the costs under “JEM-MED training,” with JEM-MED reportedly meaning Junior Explorers of Math, Medicine, Engineering and Discovery.

The school official “stated these were not legitimate and Ms. Ruiz-Pearce falsified these to disguise her transactions at JEM MedSpa,” according to court documents.

Nearly $100K used for personal purchases

Detectives eventually obtained copies of invoices for Ruiz-Pearce that indicated she had received multiple skin treatments, including Botox injections and laser treatments.

Detectives determined that Ruiz-Pearce allegedly purchased the following items at Albert’s Diamond Jewelers:

• 10k White Gold Band – $449
• 14k White Gold Diamond Earrings – $5,999
• William Henry Damascus Knife – $1,650
• 14k Yellow Gold Pearl Necklace – $419
• 14k Yellow Gold Pearl Bracelet – $281
• Overnight Shipping – $30

Additional purchases were said to include several transactions on Amazon and Etsy alongside Albert’s Diamond Jewelers. Below is a complete breakdown of the alleged fraudulent purchases, which school officials believed totalled $204,978.34:

• Amazon.com – $108,336
• Jem MedSpa – $33,871.97
• Etsy.com – $52,575.39
• Albert’s Diamond Jewelers – $10,194.96

Although the school told police that officials had initially identified over $200,000 that Ruiz-Pearce had allegedly spent, IMPD concluded in its investigation that $96,153.81 was allegedly deemed to be fraudulent. Court documents revealed that detectives could not decipher which Amazon transactions were legitimate and which ones were deemed to be fraudulent since everything was mixed.

Online court records indicate that the court has issued a no-contact order for Ruiz-Pearce and the school. An arrest warrant was issued for Ruiz-Pearce out of Marion Superior Court 29 on July 17.

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