The former interim athletics director of Nova Southeastern University 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, police said.
John Sung, 47, was selected for the interim position in August 2024 and had been working for NUS’s Athletics Department since 2023, the university said in a news release at the time.
Sung was arrested on a warrant authored by Davie Police in November for 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. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Multiple news outlets in Rhode Island reported late last month that Sung was initially arrested on the warrant in that state, where he had worked as the athletic director for a Catholic school.
He was fired from NSU this February over an issue unrelated to the case, according to a Davie Police investigation report released by the police department Friday.
John Sung, former interim athletics director of Nova Southeastern University, was booked into the Broward County jail on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (Broward Sheriff’s Office/Courtesy)
Between 2023 and March 2025, Sung received numerous reimbursements for athletic equipment he reportedly purchased but 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.
“Overall, in this specific instance, there was no documentation indicating the materials were ever brought to NSU,” Davie Police’s report said.
The internal audit found multiple reimbursements made to Sung, and when the auditor contacted the different vendors, learned 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.
After Sung received reimbursements, he allegedly spent the money on credit card payments and purchases at businesses including grocery stores, Amazon, Cinch Auto Finance payment and withdrawals at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, according to the report.
Sung spoke with Davie Police over the phone in October. He said he often submitted invoices for payment for expenses and travel but “there was never any sort of accountability or documentation at NSU,” the report said.
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.”
“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.”
At one point, Sung asked how he could “make things right” because he was working for the private Catholic school Saint Mary’s Academy in Warwick, Rhode Island.
His attorney did not respond to a voicemail or email seeking comment Friday.
An NSU spokesperson directed a request for comment to Davie Police.
Sung was granted a reduced bond of $5,000 as to each count. He remained in the jail Friday night.