BERKS COUNTY — The principal of a Berks County Catholic elementary school and his wife are facing charges after investigators say they misappropriated mor...

BERKS COUNTY — The principal of a Berks County Catholic elementary school and his wife are facing charges after investigators say they misappropriated more than $150,000 in funds, according to the Berks County District Attorney’s Office.

Thomas James Murphy, the principal of St. Francis Academy and a deacon at the Most Blessed Sacrament Parish, and his wife, Ann Marie Murphy, are both charged with fraud, according to the district attorney. They turned themselves in to law enforcement officials Thursday, the district attorney says.

The investigation began in September 2018, when the Berks County Detectives Office received a complaint from a law firm representing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown, which reported that funds from St. Francis Academy and the Most Blessed Sacrament Parish, located in Bally, Berks County, had been misappropriated.

The criminal investigation yielded the following information, according to the Berks County DA: