Former Christian Academy AD Sentenced for Theft of $40K

The former athletic director of a Christian academy in Indiana has been sentenced for stealing money from the school and using it for the purchase of gift cards and sports betting. 

Devin M. Gray, of Greenwood, was sentenced for theft as a Level 6 felony in connection to the reported theft of more than $41,400. 

Gray, 31, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year on active probation, and he was ordered to pay back the money that was stolen from Greenwood Christian Academy. 

News of Gray's crimes broke back in May of 2023. Gray was employed at GCA as the high school athletic director from June 2020 to April 2023.

School officials say Gray was given a credit card registered in GCA's name, and over the past year, the card was used to make over $40,000 in purchases. When asked about the purchases, Gray said he was purchasing Vanilla Visa gift cards for GCA coaches to use for their athletic teams.  

Between June 16, 2022 and Oct. 15, 2022, Gray purchased over $41,325 in gift cards. Adding in activation fees, the total amount of the gift cards purchased equaled $42,564.27, court documents say.

When a school official reached out to GCA coaches, they found that the coaches received about $1,150 in gift cards, but there was still $40,175 gift cards unaccounted for. 

Gray told detectives that he used much of the money for betting on DraftKings, where he had an account but was trying to move on from because he didn't want it to be a "part of our life." He told police he used a "good chunk of the cards," possibly putting about $20,000 on his account. 

A day after the police interview, Gray reportedly emailed the president of the GCA School Board confessing to the misuse of gift cards and asking to speak to the school board. The board president declined, court documents say.