(Radio Iowa) – The former technology director at a private Catholic school in eastern Iowa is sentenced to more than three years in prison for stealing thousands of dollars. Fifty-year-old Todd Wessels of Dubuque pleaded guilty in November to one once of wire fraud. He admitted that when he was the technology director for the Holy Family Catholic Schools he purchased prepaid debit cards. Wessels then transferred the balances on the cards to his personal account.

He admitted he used more than 500-thousand dollars for things like food and travel expenses for himself and his family. The school district was experiencing financial difficulties and closing a number of schools as a result. Wessels was sentenced to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay more than 503-thousand dollars in restitution and nearly four-thousand dollars in the district’s legal expenses.