GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – An employee of Greenville Technical College is accused of embezzling thousands of dollars of funds from the school.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said 53-year-old Jennifer Leigh Price was charged with Embezzlement of Public Funds valued at $10,000 or more.

According an arrest warrant, Price was employed as the bursar at the college when she took the funds.

The college said the former bursar was employed from August 2021 until November 2022.

SLED said they were requested to investigate by the Greenville Technical College Police Department.

Punishments for this type of crime can vary.

“You are usually dealing with such a big organization that it’s just really difficult to try to hide your tracks in taking the money; especially to the fact that public money is earmarked,” said John Reckenbeil, an attorney. “You have to leave a paper trail of where the money is going when it specifically is earmarked to be spent for education.”

Reckenbeil has seen a fair share of financial crimes in South Carolina and said when it comes to the legal process, punishment for those who are convicted depends on where the money was taken from and who was funding the college. That will determine if it’s a federal or state case.

“If it just goes into a big pot of money and you can’t really differentiate between the federal and the state, I think it then deems to see if it’s a six-figure embezzlement. Then I see the feds really stepping in and taking over,” said Reckenbeil.

According to an arrest warrant, Price admitted to using the money for day-to-day living expenses.

SLED said the case will be prosecuted in Greenville County.

The crime is one that attorneys said could carry years of jail time or other consequences.

“An individual who is a first-time offender who has a clean record, what I see is, most likely, if it is under $25,000, I see an individual getting probation as long as they are paying restitution,” said Reckenbeil. “The biggest thing is, you want the money being paid back to the victims. That’s always in money crimes that I see around here. That’s the number one thing. They want to get the money back.”

The former Greenville Technical College bursar is innocent until proven guilty.

Price was booked and released Thursday from the Greenville County Detention Center after posting a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.