Former Secretary Sentenced for Embezzling From South Bay Catholic School

A woman was sentenced to 150 days of Caltrans service and five years probation for stealing Scrip fundraising gift cards from a Catholic school in San Pedro, where she worked as a secretary, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

Kimberly Rauch, 49, also was ordered to pay $1,600 in restitution to Holy Trinity School and was barred from holding any job positions or roles in which she can handle an organization’s finances, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Rauch pleaded guilty last week to a felony count of grand theft by embezzlement.

School officials notified law enforcement in January 2014 after finding a pattern in the disappearance of Scrip fundraising gift cards, according to Deputy District Attorney Brian Kang.

After months of investigation, authorities determined that Rauch -- who worked at the school for two years -- had taken the gift cards between January 2013 and January 2014. She was charged in July 2014.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock