A former assistant superintendent of Catholic schools for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington was sentenced Sept. 2 to more than six years in prison for his actions to defraud the archdiocese and the federal government.
Kenneth Gaughan, the former assistant superintendent, was sentenced to 78 months in prison for each of the three counts to which he pleaded guilty: one involving $438,000 he embezzled from The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and two totaling more than $2.1 million he fraudulently obtained from the federal Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans program.
“Today, Mr. Kenneth Gaughan, a former employee of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, received his punishment from the court for the crimes he committed as part of his fraudulent scheme to embezzle funds from the archdiocese’s Catholic Schools Office over the course of several years,” the archdiocese said in a statement. “We are grateful for the efforts of the FBI and the United States Attorney’s offices in the District of Columbia and Maryland in investigating and prosecuting these crimes.”
Gaughan began working for the Archdiocese of Washington’s Catholic Schools Office in 2008 as its director of counseling, and was later promoted to assistant superintendent. In his role, Gaughan was responsible for recruiting and acting as the point of contact for contractors who provided various services to the archdiocese.
In the scheme involving the archdiocese, Gaughan admitted to defrauding the archdiocese out of more than $438,000 between 2010 and 20018. He created vendors and generated invoices for anti-bullying and crisis intervention programs, as well as for mass texting services.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Gaughan “concealed his ownership and control of three companies … then transmitted fraudulent invoices for these companies and persuaded the archdiocese to issue checks for services that Gaughan knew the companies did not provide as represented.”
Investigators discovered Gaughan “deposited the checks into the bank accounts he controlled and converted the money to his personal use.”
In the schemes involving the federal government, Gaughan used the alias Richard Strauski to obtain more than $2.1 million from a loan program designed to help companies impacted by COVID-19 pandemic and from a program to assist small businesses facing hardships.
Prosecutors said Gaughan used the illegally obtained funds to purchase a 2020 Cruisers Yachts 338 CX 33-foot watercraft, a 2020 Kia Stinger, and a rowhouse in Northeast Washington.
“For a decade, Kenneth Gaughan stole money meant to help needy people, businesses, and organizations, starting with a scheme defrauding his own employer and later looting government COVID-relief efforts,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a statement. “He went to great lengths to conceive, carry out, and conceal his crimes. Now, he will be facing the consequences of his greed with confinement in a federal prison.”
Gaughan’s three 78-month sentences will be served concurrently. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must pay restitution, and the amount will be determined at a later date.
“We pray that Mr. Gaughan’s acceptance of responsibility will be a step toward healing for all those impacted by his crimes, and we pray for Mr. Gaughan, as well,” the archdiocesan statement said.
The archdiocese also stressed that “responsible stewardship of the financial gifts generously entrusted to the Church is a responsibility that the archdiocese takes very seriously. Anyone who may suspect financial or other misconduct involving any archdiocesan employee, office, or other setting is encouraged to make a report to the archdiocese.”
