BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — A jury on Tuesday found a longtime Catholic school principal guilty of running an organized scheme to defraud more than $50,000, concluding she improperly paid herself extra money over several years without authorization.
Jurors convicted Lori Ann St. Thomas, who led St. Coleman Catholic School for about 20 years, of organized scheme to defraud more than $50,000.
St. Thomas had her head down as a guilty verdict was read.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in state prison under Florida law. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
Prosecutors claim that from 2016 to 2024, St. Thomas used an unauthorized bank account to deposit additional direct payments to herself in the form of stipends, totaling nearly a quarter of a million dollars.
They said the stipends were not approved by the superintendent of Catholic schools, Jim Rigg, and that St. Thomas was the only person authorizing the extra payments beyond her more than $130,000 annual salary.
“She decided how much extra money she wanted and she went ahead and took it,” a state prosecutor told jurors during closing arguments.
The defense maintained that every dollar St. Thomas received was properly approved and documented in payroll records, arguing she earned the additional money by performing extra duties such as running aftercare programs and covering cafeteria operations.
“The doubt is overwhelming because evidence of a crime does not exist,” her attorney said in closing arguments. “Every single dollar she is accused of defrauding was approved by Father Garcia and appears in her Paylocity payroll records.”
Defense attorneys also contended St. Thomas was targeted by administrators after she raised concerns about alleged sexual misconduct by a school volunteer.
After a little more than two hours of deliberations, jurors returned a guilty verdict on the organized scheme to defraud charge.
Under Florida law, grand theft or fraud involving more than $100,000 is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
A judge ruled that St. Thomas will remain on pre-trial release. State prosecutors requested 21 months in state prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced in six weeks.
St. Thomas told Local 10 “the fight is not over” before stepping out of court on Tuesday.
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