A former senior administrator at Penn Christian Academy in East Norriton is facing charges after she allegedly embezzled more than $579,000 from the school between July 2020 and December 2021.
Katherine Paprocka, 36, of Paoli, has been charged with felony counts of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, forgery, theft by deception, theft of services, deceptive business practices, and related offenses, in connection with the investigation.
“This non-profit school was defrauded and taken advantage of by someone they trusted as an administrator,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “This is a reminder that every non-profit organization needs to have checks on any employee who has access to its funds so more than one person has control and oversight of the monetary activity. It’s the only way to be assured the organization’s money is safe.”
The investigation began after a donor with the school contacted East Norriton Police regarding possible embezzlement and co-mingling of funds by Paprocka, according to charging documents. The donor allegedly provided police with documents detailing funding irregularities, loans, and $62,974.79 that had been paid to a personal credit card account belonging to Paprocka.
Investigators said when the school’s board requested information about the personal credit card payment, Paprocka only submitted approximately $12,000 in school-related expenses.
East Norriton Police and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau then launched a joint investigation, uncovering a total of $579,651.89 in funds that had been embezzled from the school, its employees, and their payroll and billing companies. Investigators also allege that Paprocka assumed the identities of multiple employees and volunteers, then obtained credit cards in their names without their knowledge or consent.
More than $500,000 of the stolen and embezzled funds were used for family vacations to London, New York and Florida, as well as payments for rental properties, car rentals, clothing, meals, and in-vitro fertilization medical treatments, charging documents show.
Paprocka is currently in custody at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $99,000 cash bail. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. in front of District Judge Marc Alfarano.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause. This story was updated to reflect the child's current custody status.
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