Lap of luxury | Richmond woman could serve 20 years for $239K theft from Catholic school

A Richmond woman used a school credit card to pay for personal expenses including travel, Broadway plays, concerts and other luxury goods.

Shannel Peoples-Hilliard, 46, pled guilty to wire fraud today in connection with the embezzlement of $239,820 from a private school in Richmond.

Online reports show Peoples-Hilliard worked as the business manager until last June for All Saints Catholic School on the northside of Richmond.

According to court documents, she was issued a business credit card to make payments on behalf of the school. The monies went missing over the course of three years, and Peoples-Hilliard falsified reconciliation reports to hide her personal expenses charged to the card.

Peoples-Hilliard used the credit card to pay for trips to Orlando, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach and Miami; performances including Hamilton and concerts including Usher, LL Cool J and Capitol Jazz; purses and jewelry; and rent for her personal residence.

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Peoples-Hilliard reports included misrepresentations that certain expenses fell under categories of approved spending. For example, Peoples-Hilliard attributed personal expenses such as a cruise on Royal Caribbean, a hotel stay in Winston-Salem and a deposit to The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing to a category for ongoing construction at the school.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 22, 2026, and faces up to 20 years in prison.