WORCESTER — A Northborough man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to embezzling $366,000 from a Sturbridge nonprofit organization.
U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Guzman also sentenced Kryriakos “Rick” Kapiris, 38, on Friday to five years of probation after his release. His home and other property have already been seized and sold for the purpose of paying restitution.
Federal authorities said Kapiris was IT manager at Venture Community Services, a nonprofit that assists people with mental and developmental disabilities. He worked for the Sturbridge organization between April 2015 and May 2020.
Authorities said Kapiris created three false vendor accounts from which he arranged to have Venture Community Services make purchases, only to keep the money himself.
Authorities said Kapiris used the more than $366,000 on personal expenses, including a $200,000 renovation on his home on Westbrook Road in Northborough.
In June 2022, Kapiris pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Worcester to two counts of wire fraud and a single count of money laundering.
Defendant's attorney cites medical issues for requesting no prison
Prosecutors had requested Kapiris serve three years in prison to be followed by three years probation, pointing out that he had previously been convicted of stealing from an employer.
Kapiris’ lawyer, Julie-Ann Olson, asked for four years of probation, with the first year being served in home confinement.
In a sentencing memo to the court, Olson said she requested no prison time due to severe medical issues that Kapiris developed after his 2021 arrest.
She said that in 2022, he was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a disease that causes muscle weakness and tiredness. Later, doctors diagnosed Kapiris with thymoma cancer, and he had to undergo surgery and chemotherapy.
The myasthenia gravis makes it difficult for people to swallow and Kapiris has lost 50 pounds, Olson wrote in her memo.
She said he's undergoing a medication trial, and the prison system is not equipped to care for him.
“Continuation of this medication, assuming the BOP (Bureau of Prisons) is willing or able to do so, renders Kapiris poorly able to maintain his health in the unsanitary communal environment of a federal prison,” Olson wrote. “These maladies are on top of his longstanding diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, itself a formidable condition not conducive to adequate treatment in a carceral setting.”
Kapiris is scheduled to begin his sentence on April 28.
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or [email protected]. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.