Misappropriation of funds at special school, former principal sentenced to prison

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RACINE, Wisconsin. – A former executive director and school principal convicted of embezzling thousands of dollars from a private, nonprofit school for special needs children in Racine County will go to prison.

Heather Wenthold, 43, was sentenced Friday to three years in prison and five years of extended supervision. She pleaded guilty in May to three charges, including theft, as part of a deal with prosecutors.

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Details of the case

Court documents show Wenthold was employed by Sonnenberg Consultants in early 2019. She moved to Sonnenberg Schools when it opened in June 2022 and was responsible for the organization’s finances.

The owner and CEO of Sonnenberg Consultants and Schools tipped off Racine County Sheriff’s Office investigators about suspicious transactions that occurred when Wenthold started working at the school. It wasn’t until 2023 that the owner became suspicious when Wenthold allegedly offered to continue working part-time, on a contract basis, or leave entirely. That’s when the owner learned from another school employee that Wenthold was working full-time as a principal. Cedarburg Art Museum – and has only been physically at the school five times through April of this year.

Court documents show the owner told investigators she only had access to part of the school’s finances. After confronting her about it, it turned out the PayPal account Wenthold used for school-related purposes had been closed.

The owner later discovered that Wenthold had billed the school $5,000 for hot tub repairs, home repairs, household expenses and furnishings. In total, Sonnenberg estimated that the amount amounted to more than $100,000 in unauthorized fees, bonuses and fraudulent reimbursements. Wenthold was ultimately convicted of two of the three theft charges.

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Prosecutors said Wenthold fraudulently used a credit card in the owner’s name to make more than $33,000 in fraudulent purchases, more than $22,600 in PayPal transactions and more than $25,000 in raises, bonuses and alleged refunds for herself between June 2022 and April 2023. Investigators said this did not include all items Wenthold fraudulently purchased.

In light of the allegations, the Cedarburg Art Museum’s board president told FOX6 News at the time that Wenthold was on unpaid administrative leave. He said the museum was conducting audits of its financial accounts and had not yet found any irregularities.