TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A federal appeals court has thrown out a 2015 conviction and 13-month sentence for a former Florida State professor accused of stealing money from a business school fund set up to teach students about investing.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that prosecutors had failed to show that James Doran had embezzled money from an organization that receives federal money.
Doran oversaw the Student Investment Fund as a faculty adviser in the university’s College of Business. Authorities say the finance professor transferred more than $650,000 to his personal account but returned the money after an audit.
Although Florida State receives federal money, Doran’s attorneys successfully argued that the Student Investment Fund was a separate entity and not covered by the federal embezzlement statute.
It wasn’t clear if state or federal prosecutors would file new charges.
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