A former employee with the Salvation Army was convicted Tuesday of stealing $200,000 in scholarship funds from the organization.
Kelley Jo Taylor Allison Vishnubhotla, 37, pleaded guilty during jury selection to 45 counts of theft by taking and three counts of forgery and was sentenced to 30 years, six to be served behind bars, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday.
“Not only did this defendant steal money from the Salvation Army, she stole it from a fund designed to provide scholarships for young people trying to attend college," Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr. said in a news release. "Obviously she deserves every day of the sentence handed to her by the court."
While working as the student financial aid director for the Salvation Army's southeastern region, Vishnubhotla submitted fraudulent applications for loans and scholarships during a three-year period beginning in 2004, the DA's office said.
Awards in the form of 45 checks then were deposited into Vishnubhotla’s personal bank account under “payees” whose names were variations of her own including, Taylor Allison, Allison Taylor, Jo Taylor, Joe Allison, Kelly Taylor and others, according to prosecutors.
The Bank of America contacted the Salvation Army regarding the deposits, and initially Vishnubhotla asserted the checks were legitimate. But the Salvation Army suspended Vishnubhotla while conducting its own investigation, which revealed three additional checks the woman had obtained fraudulently, the DA said.
As a condition of her sentence, Vishnubhotla must complete 750 hours of community service, write an apology letter to the Salvation Army, and pay $200,300 restitution to her former employer and $2,000 to the DA’s Office for prosecution related-costs.
The woman is scheduled to surrender Monday. If she fails to appear, her sentence will be amended to 30 years behind bars rather than six, prosecutors said.
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