Ex St John's Prep CFO Admits to Stealing Over $80K

Former chief financial officer at St. John’s Prep, Brian Dalphonse, has pleaded guilty to charges of stealing more than $80,000 from the school between 2006 and 2008.

According to authorities, more than $30,000 was used to pay off debt on a personal car, Dalphonse bought another vehicle for a former employee of the school and made several check payments totaling $13,000 to that person – all unauthorized actions. When the case went to court last year, the Salem News reported Dalphonse used the money pay off the balance on his wife’s car; the second car purchase and checks were for a former female coworker.

Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone made the announcement of Dalphonse’s plea Monday.

“By admitting his guilt today, the defendant is taking responsibility for his actions and has been ordered to pay back the stolen funds,” Leone said in a prepared statement.

Dalphonse, 41, of Goffstown, N.H., pleaded guilty to four counts of larceny and three counts of making false entries in corporate financial books. He was sentenced to five years probation with the conditions he pay back the $81,842.21 he stole ($60,000 of it must be paid within 60 days) and stay away from the school and any witnesses in the case, among other requirements.

Dalphonse left his position at St. John’s Prep in October 2009 and was awaiting a severance package from the school when an audit of the school’s accounting, customary when a CFO leaves, turned up some alarming discrepancies. School officials say they immediately contacted authorities at their findings.

Between 2006 and 2008, in addition to the unauthorized car payments and check payments to a former employee, Dalphonse used a school Visa card to purchase a home theater system for $2,151, buy a $750 smart phone and upgrade a personal vehicle for $613, according to authorities.

Authorities said Dalphonse made the $31,630 car payment in 2007 by sending a school check to AmeriCredit after which he recorded the transaction as “Ameritrade” and was to cover school van transportation. In 2008, he used a school check again to purchase a vehicle for a former employee.

Due to a conflict with the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, the case was transferred to Leone’s office and Dalphonse was indicted by an Essex County Grand Jury on March 18, 2010.

He was arraigned on April 14, 2010 in Salem Superior Court and after being released on personal recognizance, asked a judge last summer to let him leave New England to work for a relative in Georgia. The judge agreed as long as Dalphonse posted $15,000 cash bail.

While Dalphonse’s attorney indicated in November that a plea deal might be in the works, he also said Dalphonse would be posting bail to move down south.