Eric Harris, the former executive director of Sojourners’ Place in Wilmington, will spend 7 years in prison for stealing from the non-profit organization. The 51-year-old Harris pled guilty in Superior Court in April 2017 to Theft over $100,000, Act of Intimidation, and Forgery Second Degree.
Starting in fall 2013, Harris began stealing donation checks sent to Sojourners Place totaling $189,947, depositing them into a bank account he had set up in the charity’s name without its authorization. Harris then withdrew those funds as cash or charged the account for personal expenses.
A Superior Court judge sentenced Harris to a total of 35 years in prison, of which he will serve 7 years, followed by 6 months of either home confinement or work release, then 1 year of probation. Harris was ordered to have no contact with Sojourners’ Place or its employees, and not to handle any funds for any future employer. Harris must also pay restitution to Sojourners’ Place and its insurance carrier.
During the sentencing hearing, the judge expressed the magnitude of the impact that this economic crime had on the community, and the good, charitable work done by Sojourners’ Place. Deputy Attorneys General Stephen McDonald and Thomas Brown of the DOJ Consumer Protection Unit prosecuted the case. Detective Michael Hayman of the Wilmington Police led the criminal investigation.
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