Peggy Kempton, a former Harvard resident and former chief financial officer of Fruitlands Museum, pleaded guilty last week in a criminal case in Worcester Superior Court to stealing more than $1.3 million from the museum over a six-year period while employed there. She also had lived in one of the buildings on the site, and was found to have been paying for her rental expenses with money from Fruitlands’ bank account.
Now residing in Hollis, N.H., Kempton was charged with 14 counts of larceny over $250, three counts of fraudulent use of credit cards, and one count of false entry in corporate books. She used the money to pay her children’s college tuition and to buy clothes, according to the attorney general’s office. She tried to cover up her crimes by manipulating the nonprofit’s books to make it appear the money was spent for legitimate purposes.
In a separate civil case that is still pending in Worcester Superior Court, Fruitlands is suing members of Kempton’s family for fraudulent credit card activity. Also named as defendants in that case are the museum’s former auditors, Solar and Kilcoyne of Leominster, accused of negligence in performing their duties.
Kempton was hired by the museum in July 1997. According to the allegations in the civil suit, when Kempton’s daughter, Kristen, began volunteering in 2001 at Fruitlands, Kempton paid her $10 per hour directly from a Fruitlands’ bank account. In 2007, she paid $18,598.59 to her son, Bunker, for 1,800 hours of work and $10,522.50 to Kristen for 1,000 hours of work, but no Fruitlands staff member ever witnessed their work, the museum’s suit says. In addition to her $67,000 salary in 2007, Kempton withdrew more than $40,000.
Last June, the attorney general’s office stated in a news release, “Authorities allege that on numerous dates between January 2002 and February 2008, Kempton allegedly stole funds from her employer to pay for over $1.3 million in personal purchases that Kempton and her children made using 14 different credit cards. One of the credit cards was in the name of a co-worker who had no knowledge that the card existed and was being used by Kempton.” The statement also said, “Kempton also allegedly used ‘cash advance checks’ from credit cards in the names of three co-workers to pay for personal purchases that Kempton made on her own credit cards. Kempton allegedly did this without the knowledge or authorization of the co-workers. Investigators also discovered that Kempton allegedly manipulated the financial records of her employer to make it appear that the employer’s funds that Kempton used to pay for personal purchases and other expenses were being used for legitimate expenses.”
Kempton could have served a maximum of five years in prison on each count of larceny and credit card fraud, and 10 years for making false corporate entries. Assistant Attorney General Brendan O’Shea recommended that Kempton serve three to five years in state prison, with 10 years probation upon release, and pay restitution. Kempton’s lawyer, Jeffrey A. Denner, has said Kempton suffers from psychiatric problems and that he will be making a lighter sentencing recommendation at a sentencing hearing.
Kempton remains free on $5,000 cash bail and was allowed by Judge Richard Tucker yesterday to travel to Arkansas for four days to visit her ailing mother. She is scheduled to be sentenced June 9 in Worcester Superior Court.
