Conn. Alleges Head of Scholarship Charity Drained Coffers

Connecticut authorities have filed suit against the executive director of a prominent Hartford-area education foundation, accusing her of funneling more than $200,000 of the charity’s money to personal use, reports The Courant of Hartford.

Muriel Hurley was the sole employee of the Doc Hurley Scholarship Foundation launched by her father, Walter “Doc” Hurley, a longtime area school official who began dispensing college aid to local students nearly 40 years ago. The organization also hosted a popular high-school basketball tournament.

According to state officials, the foundation’s bank accounts, which held more than $1-million seven years ago, had been emptied by June 2011. Investigators said they have identified more than $200,000 allegedly misused by Ms. Harley for a credit card bills, a personal trainer, grooming for her dog, and other personal expenses.

The inquiry was prompted by a series of Courant articles, beginning in November 2013, about the foundation’s apparently dwindled resources. Ms. Hurley’s lawyer, John Wolfson, declined to comment on the suit.