Man admits $82,000 theft from Lake Forest College

A former Lake Forest College official was sentenced to 18 months in jail Tuesday after admitting he stole $82,303 from the school over a nearly nine-year span.

Mark Mollenhauer, 34, will be in jail when he is not working or performing the 200 public service hours that are also a part of his sentence.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Marykay Foy said Mollenhauer, of the first block of North Lake Street in Grayslake, was the school’s director of annual giving from September 2005 until February 2010.

During that time, he created a fake company that billed the school for $77,253 for services that were never performed.

Mollenhauer also submitted false expense reports worth $2,723 and took $2,327 in petty cash he was not authorized to have, Foy said.

College officials opened an investigation after discovering forged signatures on one of the expense forms in early 2010, Foy said.

Lake Forest Police were called after college security officials interviewed Mollenhauer and he admitted the theft.

Mollenhauer pleaded guilty to felony theft during a hearing before Associate Judge George Bridges.

Bridges also ordered Mollenhauer to make full restitution to the school during the three years he will be on probation.