Montco School Admin Embezzled $579K, Opened Cards In Employees' Names: DA

A private school administrator in Montgomery County is accused of embezzling more than half a million dollars, opening credit accounts in her employees' names, and using the money to live a lavish lifestyle, authorities say.

Katherine Paprocka, the senior administrator of Penn Christian Academy in East Norriton, is accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund lavish vacations and shopping trips.
Photo Credit: *Montgomery County District Attorney's Office*

Detectives said PCA senior administrator Katherine Paprocka opened credit cards in the names of her employees while embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school.
Photo Credit: *Google Maps (Street View)*

Mac Bullock

12/14/2022 11:42 a.m.

Katherine Paprocka, 36, of Paoli, was arraigned on dozens of felony charges Tuesday, Dec. 13 related to her work as senior administrator at the Penn Christian Academy in East Norriton, a private non-profit educational institution, said county District Attorney Kevin R. Steele in a statement.

Investigators first began examining the school's finances after a private inquiry revealed the school was regularly sending payments to a crowdfunding website "as well as" repaying loans to "three other small-business lenders," prosecutors said.

Detectives found that all four loans were taken out in the school's name and personally authorized by Paprocka, they said.

Further review uncovered more than $62,000 in funds that had been paid to Paprocka's personal American Express credit account, investigators said. When asked to justify the spending, authorities said the 36-year-old could only account for $12,000 in business expenses.

To keep the scheme running, police detectives said Paprocka assumed the identities of school staff members to forge their signatures and even opened credit card accounts in their names without their knowledge.

At the conclusion of the investigation, officials said they uncovered evidence that Paprocka defrauded the school for $579,651.89. Prosecutors say she spent the money renting properties and cars, shopping on Amazon, and taking expensive family trips to London, New York, and Florida.

PCA does not appear to have addressed the criminal charges on its website or official social media channels. The most recent post on its Facebook page, dated Sept. 14, calls on supporters to donate to the school's GoFundMe page to help pay for utility bills and teacher backpay.

The school could not be reached for comment, and the phone number listed on its website appears to be disconnected.

“This non-profit school was defrauded and taken advantage of by someone they trusted as an administrator,” said DA 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.”

According to state court records, Paprocka remains in custody at the Montgomery County lockup as of Wednesday morning.

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