Former Administrator Charged With Allegedly Stealing $579,000 From East Norriton, Pennsylvania, Christian School

Former administrator Katherina Paprocka, 36, of Paoli, Chester County, is charged with stealing more than $579,000 from Penn Christian Academy, a nonprofit K-8 school in East Norriton, prosecutors said. Charges include multiple felony counts of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, theft, forgery, deceptive or fraudulent business practices and related offenses. Investigators said most of the money was taken by stealing coworkers’ identities and forging their signatures.

Paprocka had been responsible for handling the school’s finances. Investigators allege she used her access to that money to pay for family trips to London, New York and Florida. Police also said she is accused of spending school funds on in vitro fertilization treatments, rent, clothing, food and other personal expenses.

Paprocka had access to the personal information of employees and volunteers, and she allegedly obtained most of the money by stealing their identities and forging their signatures. Police said credit cards were allegedly issued in her coworkers’ names without their knowledge. Prosecutors also said school loans with at least four lenders had been signed electronically by Paprocka, who listed herself as “senior administrator and owner” or “executive director and owner” of the school. By doing so, she allegedly accessed payroll funding and directed it to accounts she controlled.

Police began investigating in October 2021, after a school donor who had recently given the school $70,000 filed a police report alleging embezzlement and provided documents showing financial irregularities, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said. An analysis of bank, credit card and school records found that nearly $63,000 had been paid to Paprocka’s American Express credit card, while she had submitted only about $12,000 in school-related expenses, investigators said. The school board’s former treasurer told police that creditors and bill collectors had been calling about overdue payments, which prompted the school to hire an attorney to examine the irregularities. Paprocka was fired in December 2021 after it was determined she had lied on her resume about her college education and prior work experience, a lesson in honest dealing (Proverbs 11:1).

Penn Christian Academy was founded in 1966 as Penn Square Christian Day School, a nursery school that later added grades. It relied heavily on donor funding. In September, the school sent a letter to families and supporters saying it needed to close for the 2022-23 school year. The letter said events over the previous year and a half, culminating in the winter, led the school board to announce in March that the school was on a path toward closure. School officials said they were focused on raising the capital needed to rebuild and reestablish affordable Christian education in the Norristown area. The board hopes to reopen the school next fall.

Paprocka is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility ahead of a preliminary hearing. Her bail was set at $99,000 cash, and she has been unable to post it.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said the nonprofit school was defrauded by someone it trusted as an administrator. He said every nonprofit needs checks on any employee who has access to its funds, so that more than one person has control of and oversight over its money.

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