Former Director Of Perry County Family Center Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that the former Executive Director of the Perry County Family Center, Shelly A. Dreyer-Aurila, age 53, of New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on October 22, 2019, before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo, for embezzlement of funds involving federal programs.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Dreyer-Aurila admitted that between 2010 and 2017, as Executive Director of the 501(c)(3) charitable organization in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, knowingly embezzled and converted to her own personal use more than $200,000 under the care and control of the Center.  The Center annually receives more than $10,000 in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Human Services to fund programs such as its Maternal, Infant & Early Childhood Home Visiting program and its Child Abuse Prevention program. 

The case was investigated by the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation, Charitable Investigation Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney James T. Clancy is prosecuting the case.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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