Concord Man Charged With Embezzling $215,000 From School

A criminal information was filed in U.S. District Court charging the former director of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Nursing Anesthesiology School with embezzling $215,760.07 from the school, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Paul Blakeley, age 58, of Concord Township, Ohio, is charged in the one-count information. The information alleges that from approximately January 2007 to approximately April 2013, the defendant issued approximately 110 checks drawn on accounts maintained by the school without authorization, and made them payable to his spouse, various merchants and credit card issuers. 

In addition, with regard to approximately 50 of the unauthorized checks, the defendant forged the payee’s endorsement before depositing the checks into his personal bank account, according to the information.

As a result of the scheme, the school suffered losses totaling $215,760.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after consideration of the federal sentencing guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation.  In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert W. Kern and Miranda Dugi following an investigation by the Cleveland Clinic Protective Operations and the United States Secret Service.