Bar Harbor Maine School System Recovers $1M Stolen in Cybercrime

The Bar Harbor school system has recovered the money diverted to a fraudulent account in a cybercrime.

All the Money Involved in a Bar Harbor Cybercrime Has Been Recovered

MDIRSS Superintendent of Schools Mike Zboray said in an email to the Bar Harbor Community that the entire $1,066,754 payment intended for Wright Ryan Construction has been recovered. The money was for the company's work on the Bar Harbor School build.

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The Money Was Lost After a Request to Make a Change to the District's Bank Account

On March 11th, 2025, it was reported that the full payment had been diverted to a fraudulent bank account after a faked request for an account change. School staff immediately recognized the error and reported it, prompting an investigation by the police and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The funds were frozen, enabling officials to recover them before they were taken by the cybercriminals. The money is pending return to the appropriate Bar Harbor Banking and Trust account.

MDIRSS Superintendent Zboray Says Several Safety Measures are Being Enacted

Zboray says the district remains committed to strengthening its financial security and that he has taken several actions in response to the incident:

• A thorough review of the district's financial procedures has been conducted in collaboration with their cybersecurity team.
• Reinforced safeguards are being implemented to strengthen their payment process.
• Accounts payable staff across the district will receive additional advanced training to enhance security awareness and prevent similar threats in the future.
• The FBI is continuing its investigation into the crime, in hopes of locating and arresting the perpetrators.

We'll update this story as more details become available.