Fund Raiser Jailed for Duping Mass. Catholic School With Phony Donor
June 28, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute
A professional fund raiser was sentenced to two years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to stealing more than $360,000 from a Worcester, Mass., Catholic school, writes the Associated Press.
Michael Hlady, 37, of Greenville, R.I., acknowledged misleading the nuns who run the Venerini Academy into believing he was about to secure a multimillion-dollar gift to support a planned expansion, posing as the prospective donor in phone conversations with school officials.
The academy, which had hired Mr. Hlady in August 2008 to raise money for the project, completed nearly $3-million worth of construction work based on his assurances about a wealthy benefactor before discovering the ruse. He was arrested in April 2010.
