Four months after Kimberly Hollemon resigned as principal of Lafayette High School, a grand jury in the Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court indicted her on a single count of felony embezzlement.
Hollemon, 49 of Providence Forge, was initially placed on administrative leave by the Williamsburg-James City County School Division in April and she resigned May 2. The grand jury handed down the indictment on Sept. 18, according to Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court filings.
James City County Police Department spokeswoman Stephanie Williams said a person at the school division called police about suspected embezzlement.The person alleged Hollemon used the school division’s credit card to make purchases, Williams said. Investigators discovered Hollemon used the card repeatedly to purchase items for her personal use.Hollemon turned herself into the James City County Police Department on Sept. 24 around 4:15 p.m. after the police department had a warrant for her arrest issued on Sept. 20, according to the filings.Hollemon was transported to the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail and released on a $1,000 unsecured bond due to her “ample ties to this community," according to the bond order.When reached for comment, Hollemon said “You can contact my attorney,” before she ended the phone call.Hollemon’s attorney Travis Williams of Chesterfield said he intended to enter a not guilty plea on her behalf, and that she was stunned by the accusations against her.
“My client is a lifelong educator with a pristine background, who has always put the kids first and always worked to help them,” Williams said. “She was shocked when these allegations came out, and we will vigorously fight them because my client would never violate that position of trust.”
Williams also said that Hollemon wanted to thank some members of the community for words of support she had received since April, including from parents and students.
According to Williamsburg-James City County School Division spokeswoman Eileen Cox, a principal can make purchases at his or her discretion. The school’s bookkeeper does not sign off on those purchases and they are submitted directly to the finance department. As the audit of Hollemon’s spending began, the school division instituted a new policy where purchases had to be signed off on by an assistant superintendent.
The purchases, item descriptions and vendors listed in the spending reports did not appear to be out of line with what is normally used in the school, Cox said Thursday. “It was after staff members at the school raised attention to irregularities, that what was being purchased was not being used at the school, that we began our investigation."
“This is not a case of (the finance department) knowing about it for months.”
Cox said while the allegations against Hollemon were reported to the police department in April, she was unsure of when the school division became aware of the allegations.
Hollemon had served as principal of Lafayette since May 2018, having first served as the school’s interim principal starting in August 2017, after the former principal Anita Swinton, resigned to take a position in W-JCC’s central office.
After her resignation, Hollemon was hired to work at John Tyler Community College about two weeks ago, according to the court filings.
If convicted, Hollemon faces as much as 20 years in prison and $2,500 in fines, according to the Virginia Code.
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