An unrepentant fraudster who fleeced the University of Waterloo out of tens of thousands of dollars even had his mother-in-law on the payroll -- for $139,000.

Jeffrey Lederer, general manager of the university's School of Architecture was found guilty of theft and fraud in Kitchener.

Besides paying his mother-in-law $139,000 for what court was told amounted to seven hours of work, the Waterloo Record reportsLederer, 48, used a university credit card for a whopping $37,000 in personal purchases.

“I’m in shock,” Lederer told the newspaper outside of court.

According to the Record: He paid his mother-in-law Pauline Von Rhedey $139,000. Only one person ever saw her work and she made more than her son-in-law. The majority of her paycheques were plopped into Lederer’s bank account or his wife’s and Lederer tried to cover up his fraudulent faux pas with saccharine letters to a co-worker.

"He was the full-time general manager, the second in command at the school," Justice Stephen Glithero told the court. "She was a casual employee. To testify that her work was sporadically limited when her pay exceeded his belies the legitimacy of her employment earnings."

Lederer was suspended in July 2011 prompting him to write two grovelling letters to the school’s director, Rick Haldenby.

"I need to first apologize from the bottom of my pathetic heart for any hurt or embarrassment that I have caused you …" the letter reads.

In court, Lederer played the “Who me?” card but the judge was not buying it.

He was found guilty of fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and uttering a forged document -- the last two charges were stayed.

He’ll be sentenced in January.