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Former DC Principal Gets 30 Months For Embezzling 175K Meant For Student Affairs

A former D.C. principal was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Wednesday, August 3, for embezzling $175,000, officials said. 

St. Thomas More Catholic School

St. Thomas More Catholic School

Photo Credit: Google Maps

Bridget Coates, 49, of Falls Church was formerly the principal of St. Thomas More Catholic School, where her embezzlement scheme ran, depositing about 66 unauthorized checks, from 2012 to 2017, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The money was intended for the Home School Association, which is a program that funds student services and activities, officials reported.

Coates abused her access to the association's checks and deposited the money to her account to afford designer fashion purchases and a home-mortgage loan, the Attorney's Office said. 

Alongside the 30-month prison sentence, she owes $175,000 in restitution to the Archdiocese of Washington and a similar amount in a forfeiture money judgment, law enforcement said.

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