Friday, August 8, 2014

Ex-Official of Catholic School Sentenced on Embezzlement Charges in Erie, Pennsylvania

An Erie County judge handed down a sentence, Tuesday, to a former Erie Catholic school employee who plead guilty to embezzling thousands of dollars from Saint Peter Cathedral School.

A judge sentenced 63-year-old David Earls to 7 years probation for embezzling nearly $170,000 dollars from the school.

The judge said Earls will have to make a serious effort to pay back all of that money as well as complete 100 hours of community service and write apology letters to school officials.

A plea deal kept the case from going to trial.

In May, Earls plead guilty to charges that he fraudulently used school credit cards for personal purchases.  He also admitted to giving himself and his wife unauthorized raises.  Earls told the court, Tuesday morning, he thought the raises were approved.

Director of the school, Father Michael Ferrick, says it's taken some time, but the parish is moving past this.

"A lot of people have been hurt.  Not only financially, but people who felt that they put their trust in Mr. Earls, feel like they were taken advantage of," said Ferrick.  "We have moved forward and we're moving forward.  The school is going to begin in a few weeks and we have the same enrollment as we did last year, which is tremendous."

Earls has already paid $25,000 back to the school.

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