Christian Academy's Ex-Tech Officer Pleads Guilty to Pocketing Nearly $300K From School's Online Store

The former chief technology officer at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights pleaded guilty last week after being accused of funneling almost $300,000 from the school's online store into his personal checking account, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Michael Burrei, 41, of Nashville, TN, was sentenced to two years of probation and must pay $150,000 in restitution, the report stated. He originally was charged with theft from a school or place of worship and continuing a financial crimes enterprise, but his guilty plea reduced the charges to a single count of felony theft, the report added.

Prosecutors accused Burrei, who was hired by the school in 2011, of stealing $293,000 from the school store between August 2013 and November 2014. Investigators discovered that Burrei created and linked a PayPal account to the school store’s website and funneled revenue generated by the site into the account. Burrie then made more than 100 transfers from the PayPal account into his personal checking account in order to cover extensive personal expenses.

RELATED: Former Christian Liberty Academy Employee Charged in Financial Scheme

Burrei left the school in January of 2015 and moved to Nashville. He surrendered to authorities in May after Arlington Heights police traveled to Tennessee to question him about the transfers.

More via the Chicago Tribune

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