DA: Ex-official embezzled nearly $600k from Montgomery County school for family vacations, IVF treatment
Katherine Paprocka
MONTGOMERY COUNTY - More than half a million dollars was stolen from a private school to help fund the extravagant lifestyle of a former senior administrator, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
Katherine Paprocka, 36, has been charged with 29 felonies in connection to the theft of $579,000 from private, non-profit Penn Christian Academy in East Norriton.
An investigation found that Paprocka used the stolen funds to pay for family vacations to London, New York and Florida; rental property payments; car rentals; clothing; restaurant meals, Amazon purchases; and payments for in-vitro fertilization medical treatments.
The former administrator forged signatures and obtained credit cards in the names of multiple school employees and volunteers as part of her scheme to embezzle the money, according to the DA's office.
MORE HEADLINES:
- Delaware County youth detention center had 'dangerous' lack of oversight, report says
- Man shot in the back, carjacked helping suspects on side of the road in Feltonville, police say
- Local school district weighs virtual learning to combat tripledemic, staffing shortages
Officials say she also claimed to be the majority owner of the school to secure payroll funding and loans with donors.
"Loans with all four lenders were electronically signed by Paprocka and listed her as the ‘Senior Administrator and Owner' or ‘Executive Director and Owner’ of Penn Christian Academy," the DA said.
However, Penn Christian Academy does not have ownership as a non-profit educational institution.
During one incident, Paprocka could only expense $12,000 in school funds after $62,974.79 was reportedly found paid to her American Express credit card.
Paprocka has been remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to make $99,000 cash bail.