Former account manager who worked with USF pleads guilty for embezzling $12.8M
August 13, 2021 - Former employee Ralph Puglisi, who previously worked within a direct service organization of the University of South Florida, pled guilty in federal court to embezzling at least $12.8 million on Thursday, according to court documents filed in the Middle District of Florida. He was an accounting manager for the University Medical Service Association (UMSA), a nonprofit that provides staffing and other support for the university’s health care businesses. According to an investigative report from Greenberg Traurig, it found that Puglisi made at least $12.86 million in non-business charges on UMSA credit cards from June 2014 through November 2019. The charges were for “rent payments, extensive home renovations, travel, chartered yachts, and contributions to women affiliated with an interactive adult website.” Puglisi could face up to 20 years in prison.