D.C. Ballet School Exec Admits Embezzling $1.5 Million
Sophia Kim will be required to pay exactly $1,502,016.21 in restitution, according to court papers.
Dado Ruvic/Reuters
The former comptroller for a Washington, D.C. ballet school founded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church has pleaded guilty to embezzling some $1.5 million from her employers to support a longtime gambling habit, according to federal court filings. In a plea agreement made public on Thursday, Sophia Kim admitted to one count of bank fraud for siphoning the money from her employer, the Kirov Ballet Academy. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $1 million or twice the amount that was stolen. Kim had already worked for the Kirov Academy 20 years earlier, and spent two years in prison for swindling an affiliated nonprofit out of $800,000—which she reportedly also spent largely on gambling. When she was hired back in 2017, people associated with the school were shocked at the decision, reported The New York Times. Kim will be required to pay restitution in the amount of $1,502,016.21, states the plea agreement.
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