A former Doylestown Hospital official pleaded guilty of embezzling $600K from a charity fund

The official was sentenced to five years of probation. She had previously repaid the money.

Published April 16, 2024, 10:26 a.m. ET

A former Doylestown Hospital official pleaded guilty Monday in Bucks County Common Pleas Court to embezzling more than $600,000 from a hospital charitable account, the Bucks County District Attorney said.

Norma Galagarza, 68, of Chalfont, worked as director of medical staff at the Bucks County Hospital before retiring in March 2021. One of her tasks was to oversee a charitable account used by the medical staff’s executive committee to make community donations or to support employees in need.

A criminal investigation began in early 2022 when the Doylestown board started receiving insufficient funds notices for an account it didn’t know was still open. Investigators discovered that Galagarza had taken control of the account as early as 2007. From 2008 to 2021, she made 896 unauthorized transactions totaling about $604,702.29, which she used for personal expenses, the District Attorney’s office said.

Galagarza has since repaid the money, the prosecutor’s office said.

Doylestown Hospital officials said they were grateful that the money was returned. “We look forward to putting these resources to excellent use in honor of the mission and core values of Doylestown Health and its medical staff,” Sean Reinhardt, a cardiologist and medical staff president, said in an email.