Sherry Gong, the woman accused of embezzling $32,554 from the Atascadero High School Band and Pageantry Booster Club, pleaded guilty to all charges Wednesday morning.
According to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office, the judge in the case, Jacquelyn Duffy, indicated that she will grant probation to the defendant; however, she made no promises of how much jail time she would order and Gong could have to serve up to a year in the county jail. Gong is scheduled to be sentenced on October 2.
Gong is the wife of San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong. She was treasurer of the Atascadero High School club at the time the embezzlement occurred, between July 2017 and April 2018.
After charges were filed against her in July, Gong admitted to taking the money. Her attorney, Guy Galambos, said a close family member had begged her for money, saying he needed it as a matter "of life or death." Galambos said before an investigation began, Gong was already raising money from other family members and selling personal jewelry with the intent to pay back the funds.
Galambos said Wednesday that the Gongs did not have any other public statements to make at this time.
