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Woman pleads guilty in theft of $650,000 from school

By Jennifer Harrheraldstandard.Com 1 min read

?A Millsboro woman pleaded guilty to stealing more than $650,000 from a Greene County school over nearly two years.

Jo Phylis Popielarcheck, 54, of 14 College Ave. entered the pleas Wednesday before Greene County Judge Farley Toothman.

State police Trooper Robert Cree charged that Popielarcheck stole $656,859 from Greene County Career and Technology Center in Franklin Township between December 2008 and November 2010. Popielarcheck was the business manager.

Police were alerted to irregular banking activities involving the school, and an audit of the accounts was conducted.

The audit revealed that over a 23-month period, Popielarcheck wrote checks to herself from three separate school accounts.

Police charged that she printed the checks with her computer, and then used a stamp to sign the required signatures.

After she wrote the checks, police charged that Popielarcheck deleted any record of the transactions from the school’s computer system.

Popielarcheck pleaded guilty to all 588 counts, which included theft by unlawful taking, forgery and computer trespassing.

Toothman will sentence Popielarcheck on Sept. 2. In the meantime, she remains free on $75,000 unsecured bond.

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