PROVIDENCE — A Providence couple accused of stealing more than $1 million from the Rhode Island School of Design through a fraudulent billing scheme surrendered to the authorities yesterday and were arraigned on federal criminal charges.

The couple, Patrick “Berney” Clyne, no age available, and Ibtisama Bradley, 58, who had left for Ireland last summer, were arrested around noon after they passed through customs at Logan International Airport in Boston. Inspectors from the U.S. Postal Service, the lead investigative agency in the case, immediately took the fugitives into custody.

They were taken into U.S. District Court late yesterday and arraigned on 11 counts of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Not guilty pleas were entered by the couple’s lawyer. Magistrate Judge David L. Martin allowed Clyne and Bradley to be released on $100,000 surety bail. He also ordered Clyne to abide by a curfew from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. and that all his movements be monitored with an electronic tracking bracelet.

Clyne will be living with his daughter, Elise, in North Kingstown.

The restrictions had been negotiated between the U.S. Attorney’s office and the lawyer defending Clyne and Bradley.

In March, the federal authorities issued arrest warrants for the couple after they learned that they had left Rhode Island for Ireland. In the late 1990s, Clyne worked as RISD’s manager of fire and life safety systems on the college’s East Side campus. His post allowed him to request and approve all fire-safety work at the school.

The indictment alleges that in 1997, Bradley, his wife, incorporated a business in Delaware, Ankh Electric Ltd., and opened a bank account and post office box in Rhode Island. Over the next eight years, Clyne is accused of approving fraudulent invoices for fire-safety work that Ankh Electric never performed at the school. RISD cut checks totaling $1,026,399.50.

A RISD spokeswoman has said in a past statement that school officials discovered the alleged scheme in 2005, contacted the authorities and fired Clyne.

In court yesterday, Andrew Reich, a federal prosecutor, and Scott Lopez, the couple’s defense lawyer, disagreed on the circumstances that led Clyne and Bradley to leave for Ireland. Reich said the couple fled Rhode Island last August as his office and a previous defense lawyer were close to negotiating a plea agreement on criminal charges.

Lopez said that Clyne and Bradley returned to Ireland to attend a funeral and stayed because Clyne was experiencing serious medical problems. Clyne, who was born and reared in Ireland, has a heart condition, diabetes and scarred lungs, his lawyer said.

He said that Clyne had several stays in hospitals in Ireland.

“They have been trying to get his health condition in order,” Lopez said.

Reich said that money stolen from RISD was used by the couple to buy their retirement home in Ballinamore, Ireland, a fishing community northeast of Galway.

Clyne, who wore a gray suit, and Bradley, dressed in corduroy pants and a colorful turtleneck sweater, sat and held hands during the proceeding.

Lopez told the court that Clyne had no prior criminal record and has lived in Rhode Island for 42 years. He said that Bradley had been a longtime vice counsel for the U.S. State Department serving in the Middle East, as well as South America and Central America. He also said that she has a son who is an FBI agent.

Lopez said that the couple learned they were fugitives after reading a newspaper article about themselves in an Irish newspaper two months ago. Soon thereafter, he said, they began planning their return and surrender in the United States.

If convicted, the government will move to seize their property in Ireland as well as property at 67 Ridge St., a former monastery at the Holy Ghost Church on Federal Hill.

bmalinow@projo.com