The former interim athletics director of Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Fla., was booked into the Broward County jail Friday on charges stemming from fraudulent invoices he allegedly submitted in order to receive nearly $60,000 in reimbursements.
As reported by Angie DiMichele of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 47-year-old John Sung was selected for the interim position in August 2024 and had been working for NSU’s athletics department since 2023.
Sung was arrested on a warrant authored by Davie Police in November on charges of organized scheme to defraud $50,000 or more and grand theft in excess of $20,000 but less than $100,000, according to the warrant cited by the Sun-Sentinel. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He was fired from NSU in February over an issue unrelated to the case, according to a Davie Police investigation report released by the police department Friday.
Per DiMichele's reporting, Sung received numerous reimbursements for athletic equipment he reportedly purchased between 2023 and March 2025, but that could not be found after he was terminated, according to the Davie Police investigation report. An internal audit done as a result found that Sung allegedly submitted fraudulent invoices to various companies, totaling about $57,000.
The internal audit found multiple reimbursements made to Sung. When the auditor contacted the different vendors, it was discovered that some of the submitted invoices were not in the correct format or were missing correct invoice numbers. Some of the vendors said they never shipped any equipment to NSU or to Sung, the report said, as reported by DiMichele.
Sung allegedly spent the reimbursement money on credit card and auto finance payments and at grocery stores, Amazon and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
Sung told police in October that he often submitted invoices for payment for expenses and travel but “there was never any sort of accountability or documentation at NSU.”
Asked about some of the specific purchases discovered during the audit, Sung said “he was trying to purchase equipment at a discount for the school.” Other invoices, he said, were “legitimate” and said some of the merchandise within the invoices were trophies given out to donors or kids, a computer program that NSU no longer used and equipment “which were waiting to be released,” DiMichele reported.
“There were no policies or procedures that prohibited employees from ‘producing invoices,’ ” Sung told police, according to the report. “Sung never thought anything of receiving the reimbursements because he figured eventually he was going to order the merchandise.”
