St. Petersburg, FLORIDA

Arrest reported Dec 6, 2007 - Marva H. Dennard, 68, principal of Bishop Academy II, a private school for the disadvantaged, was arrested on charges that she stole more than $250,000 from state voucher programs intended to help low-income and disabled students.

According to state investigators, who said she rigged scholarship applications to receive extra money, she also inflated the number of her students, falsely reported the cost of tuition, and submitted an altered fee schedule to take advantage of the state programs. The school closed in 2005.

She has been charged with grand theft and aggravated white-collar crime, and is being , held in the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail.

Dennard was described as "a prominent community activist."