Remorse and Guilt After Taking $233,000 and Now Facing The Judge

by Gary Snyder

I’ve seen this hundreds of times:

After a somewhat bizarre three-year embezzlement scheme, former Harrisburg Area Community College Vice President Nancy Rockey was charged with using a HACC-issued credit card to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gift cards from Amazon and Target. She doctored financial records to hide the $233,000 thefts from the school.

Her career at the college spanned 31 years.

The judged allowed her to speak before sentencing. "I loved HACC. I loved HACC with all my heart," she said. "There is absolutely no excuse for what I've done."

"I can never articulate…how awful I feel," she said. "Remorse is so deep inside me. And guilt."

"I'm a different person. I'm a broken person. But I believe in changing lives and making a difference."

Rockey had tried, unsuccessfully, to repay HACC in full from her retirement, but was unable to access the funds to do so. He said she has an agreement to settle the restitution issue by paying the college's insurer $127,500 at a pace of $18,000 annually. 

The Judge also sentenced Rockey to 15 months in prison.  (source)

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