Former teacher sentenced to probation for embezzling from high school media group
A former Omaha teacher who pleaded no contest in Douglas County District Court to taking $76,000 from the Nebraska High School Press Association has been sentenced to probation.
Angela Wolfe, 43, a former journalism teacher at Burke High School, entered her plea and was found guilty of embezzlement during a five-year period. Prosecutors dismissed a charge second-degree forgery, a felony, and Judge Leigh Ann Retelsdorf sentenced Wolfe to three years' probation.
The Omaha Public Schools District said earlier this year that Wolfe is no longer an employee. Nebraska Department of Education standards require a teaching certificate to be revoked for a variety of crimes, including felonies.
An investigator from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said in an April arrest warrant that Wolfe had been the treasurer of the association when the funds went missing. The NHSPA is a nonprofit organization headquartered at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The investigator stated in the warrant that most of the unauthorized transactions took place in Douglas County. Wolfe was the only person with a debit card for the account, he said.
Michelle Hassler, who was executive director of NHSPA at the time, began looking into the association finances in January. She determined about $76,000 was missing from the account, the investigator said. Wolfe was removed from her role after the discrepancies were found, Hassler said.
One example of the alterations occurred on a financial statement from Nov. 30, 2022, that Hassler obtained. The statement showed a balance of $24,840 when in reality there was only $1,777 in the account.
The unauthorized transactions included $11,805 in forged checks and $21,736 in debit card transactions. The transactions were for goods and services including ATM cash withdrawals, grocery stores, restaurants, veterinarian bills, online shopping and streaming service subscriptions.
The press association said in a statement the executive board has taken action to safeguard its financial viability. The mission of the NHSPA, which has been in operation for more than 90 years, is to foster a close and caring community of Nebraska journalism teachers.
