VICTORVILLE — Two former Victor Valley Community College officials and a real estate agent were charged Wednesday with embezzling more than $1 million through the college's community partnership program.

Nicholas Halisky, Lynn Puckett and Ronald Krimper were each charged with one felony count of embezzlement of public funds in connection with the program, which ran from March 2000 to July 2002.

Puckett, Krimper and Halisky started the program. Krimper was the vice president of student learning at the college. Halisky was the college president.

Puckett, a real estate agent, was contracted by the college to recruit the 62 businesses, civic organizations and community groups that participated in the program for a per-student, per-hour commission.

None of the businesses or groups that participated in the program is expected to be charged, said Deputy District Attorney Michael Fermin.

"Some of (the businesses and groups) clearly seem to be, from our investigation, innocents,' Fermin said.

He said $1.3 million was paid out to the businesses during the 16 months the college program was in existence.

The groups in the program often referred to as the Hi Desert Collaboration of Learning Associates or Hi Desert COLA would offer some kind of learning opportunity for their clients, employees or the community parenting classes, speakers, on-the-job training, domestic violence presentations and other things.

When people came to the class or event or received training, they filled out college registration forms, and the experience counted as a noncredit college class. The college got $3.76 from the state for each hour the student spent in class and passed about $1 of that on to the organization.

Many of the experiences that counted as a class were things the organizations would have been doing anyway.

The program required three things for it to be legal:

A college-approved curriculum had to be in place before the course was taught.

A college-approved instructor had to teach the course.

The college board had to approve each course.

None of the conditions was met, college board President Dennis Henderson said. The college officially ended the program in July 2002 after suspending it earlier that year.

Krimper, who has been the vice president of student services at Mount San Jacinto College since June 2002, said Wednesday, "I think it's a witch hunt. It's part of the vindictive effort to go after Mr. Halisky. This is all an effort to disgrace Mr. Halisky and tear down the people who supported him.

"I question the timing since it's right before the election. The last time I was interviewed by the police was in March or April.'

The college board of trustees fired Halisky last year along with his wife, Cathy, and another administrator at the college in a bitterly divided 3-2 vote. Some have accused Henderson of waging a personal battle against Halisky.

Henderson scoffed at such accusations.

"We all know the DA is just right there in my hip pocket,' Henderson said sarcastically. "I have no power over the DA's Office.'

On the charges, however, he had nothing but praise for prosecutors.

"They go a long way to clean up corruption that was happening at the college,' Henderson said.

The criminal complaint claims the college board did not know about or authorize the program. Henderson made the same charge, but Krimper said it's simply not true.

"No effort was ever made to hide or keep the board in the dark,' Krimper said. "The board knew all along about the program individually and as a whole.'

Puckett also says she's a victim.

"If anyone's guilty, it would be Ron (Krimper) and Nick (Halisky),' Puckett said. "They're the educators, not me. They should have known this program was illegal to begin with. I believed in the college. It's like going to church and thinking you're doing good and all of a sudden you get molested. You work for the college, think you're doing a great thing for the community and all (of a) sudden you get arrested.'

Puckett has sued the college, alleging breach of contract and that the school still owes her $30,000. And she's ready to swamp the school with lawsuits.

"If they are going to slander me, they're going down,' she said. "They're going to pay me at least $1.1

million for breach of contract, $2.5

million for wrongful business practices, and I'm suing for $5

million for slander. If if have to represent myself, I will. If they want to make me a scapegoat, they picked the wrong person. I'm not backing down.'

Halisky, through his wife and lawyers, declined to comment on the charges. He is now director of a University of Redlands-sponsored program at the Lewis Center for Educational Research in Apple Valley.

Wednesday's charges culminated an eight-month joint investigation between the Sheriff's Department and District Attorney's Office.

Other officials at the Victorville college also are being investigated, Fermin said.

Of the $1.3

million paid out to the businesses by the college, about $300,000 of it went into Puckett's pocket, Fermin said.

"Her activity contributed in the embezzlement of this money,' he said.

Puckett denied that, saying she was given a $500,000 budget and paid 25 cents per student per hour they spent in these classes.

"I don't think I got that much money,' she said of the $300,000 sum.

Halisky, Puckett and Krimper each face anywhere from probation to four years in state prison if convicted. They are due in Victorville Superior Court for arraignment on Oct. 8, Fermin said.

The college knew an investigation was going on.

"All the people involved are no longer at the college,' college spokesman Bill Greulich said. "It's truly unfortunate for those concerned. We are under new administration and doing whatever we can to make sure that funds are restored."