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Press release from the USDOJ
A former Texas Christian University employee was sentenced today to five years in prison for theft of federal funds, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.
Margaret Faust, 69, who served as Assistant Director of TCU’s Upward Bound program for roughly 18 years, pleaded guilty in August to embezzling money from the program, which helps low-income high school students prepare for college.
According to court documents, Faust routinely pocketed cash from funds awarded to the university by the Department of Education. She stored the money – allotted for Upward Bound participant stipends – in a locked drawer inside her desk before depositing it in her personal checking account.
As part of her scheme, Ms. Faust instituted a program that allowed her to withhold the stipend money in $7 increments – about the cost of students’ bus fare, one former Upward Bound participant testified in court.
As a result of her conduct, TCU’s Upward Bound program was terminated.
Ms. Faust has paid back more than $210,000 – but it’s possible she stole significantly more than that, prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor at her sentencing hearing today.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Education conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Fahey prosecuted the case.
A former Texas Christian University employee was sentenced today to five years in prison for theft of federal funds, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.
Margaret Faust, 69, who served as Assistant Director of TCU’s Upward Bound program for roughly 18 years, pleaded guilty in August to embezzling money from the program, which helps low-income high school students prepare for college.
According to court documents, Faust routinely pocketed cash from funds awarded to the university by the Department of Education. She stored the money – allotted for Upward Bound participant stipends – in a locked drawer inside her desk before depositing it in her personal checking account.
As part of her scheme, Ms. Faust instituted a program that allowed her to withhold the stipend money in $7 increments – about the cost of students’ bus fare, one former Upward Bound participant testified in court.
As a result of her conduct, TCU’s Upward Bound program was terminated.
Ms. Faust has paid back more than $210,000 – but it’s possible she stole significantly more than that, prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor at her sentencing hearing today.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Education conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Fahey prosecuted the case.
