La Salle: Millions Stolen in Employee Fraud

Longtime employee created fake invoices over 20-plus years, says university

A longtime La Salle University employee was fired after officials said they discovered several million dollars missing in an alleged fraud scheme dating back at least 20 years.

University officials say 58-year-old Stephen Greb of Blue Bell is accused of setting up a bogus food company through which he authorized payments from La Salle.

Greb was director of auxiliary services and his job included oversight of food services, on-campus catering, mail distribution and the campus store.

University spokesman Joseph Donovan says the school has not yet pressed charges against Greb, but has made the Philadelphia district attorney's office aware of the case.

What the university really wants is restitution.

“They spotted a financial Irregularity.  The employee was confronted and then we discovered something very bad had happened over a period of time,” said University attorney Ed Turzanski.

The fake company was discovered after the university began using an enhanced invoice-control system, reported the Inquirer. After being tipped off, university attorneys and a forensic accounting firm led a full investigation into the scheme.

"There's a feeling of shock and betrayal. They just can't believe something like this would happen," Donovan told the Inquirer. "It's a longtime and highly trusted employee who just exploited a vulnerability in the system."

La Salle is a private Roman Catholic university with about 7,000 students.

No one answered the door at Greb's Blue Bell or Avalon homes.

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