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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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