Tsutsumi turned herself in to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. She was arrested following a investigation by the West Valley-Mission Community College District Police Department and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

Tsutsumi, 59, allegedly embezzled between $200,000 and $266,000 by renting the college's tennis courts to private individuals between 1997 and 2004--taking the funds for her own use, according to prosecutors.

"It's not illegal for her to rent out the tennis courts ... but she was personally pocketing the money," said Deputy District Attorney Dale Lohman, who grew up in Saratoga.

Prosecutors say that more than $50,000 of the total came from fraudulent expense claims Tsutsumi submitted to the college during the same period. They added that she filed fraudulent personal income tax returns with the state for the 1998 through 2003 tax years by failing to disclose the income from the tennis court rentals.

Peter Anning, public information officer for the college district, confirmed that the investigation began in April 2004 because of the tennis camps. When nonprofit groups request use of the college facilities they are often granted usage at minimal cost, he said. In this particular case, a tennis camp was allowed to use the college facilities without paying a fee, but agreed to take care of any damage or maintenance costs it incurred.

A comment was made during "a social situation," Anning said, which indicated the camp was also paying an additional fee that college officials were not aware of. It came to light that another camp was also using the college facilities on different days and paying a fee that college officials didn't know about.

Tsutsumi's lawyer, Frank Ubhaus, could not be reached at press time. Tsutsumi retired from the college on June 30, 2003, and no longer works for the district, Anning said. When confronted about renting out the tennis courts and pocketing the cash, Tsutsumi claimed to have used the money to make purchases on behalf of the college, Lohman said. The receipts she provided in support of her claim turned out to be false. Some were duplicates of prior expense reimbursements, while others were for items that had never been purchased or had been purchased for her own personal use, Lohman said.

Tsutsumi allegedly used the cash to buy an expensive stereo, lamps, art work, golf clubs, luggage, landscaping materials and even a kitchen sink.

Tsutsumi's bail was set at $300,000, which she made through a property bond by posting her house, Lohman said. Tsutsumi was arraigned in Superior Court on June 21, and her next court date is July 6. If convicted, she could face more than 10 years in state prison.

As a result of this investigation, Anning said several changes have been made to district procedures. For example, all buildings, fields and rentals of the college facilities must go through the facility rental office. Long-term rental usage must also now go through a tighter approval process.

In addition, Anning said there will be new training for budget managers.