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Former student charged with theft

Used Panhellenic credit card for personal purchases

Published: Thursday, October 15, 2009

Updated: Thursday, October 15, 2009 13:10


Potentially fraudulent purchases on a Loyola Panhellenic Council credit card have landed a former panhellenic officer in jail.


Marie d'Auria Groux-Holt, who was a mass communication student scheduled to graduate in May 2009, has since left the university. According to court documents, she used the credit card, intended for Panhellenic purchases only, for more than $3,000 in personal purchases from October 2008 to February of 2009.


Groux-Holt was arrested at her home in Jefferson, La. on Feb. 19 and later released without bail.


Groux-Holt, an alumna of Theta Phi Alpha, was serving as vice president for recruitment for Loyola's chapter of the Panhellenic Council, the governing body overseeing Loyola sororities when the charges were made.


Last year, no one held the position of finance officer for Panhellenic Council. Groux-Holt was placed in charge of purchasing for and therefore held the credit card.

Groux-Holt made her first appearance in court June 2.


The charges, totaling $3,252.89, included paying for other people's tabs because Groux-Holt said it gave her a "feeling of empowerment," according to court documents.

Groux-Holt said in an e-mail, "To my knowledge, at least $2000 of the alleged charges were actually spent on recruitment costs. I never said that anything ‘gave me a sense of empowerment,' nor is any reference to the ‘Underground' accurate."


According to the court documents, Groux-Holt told Jessica Murphy, the former assistant director for Co-Curricular Programs, when confronted about the charges that her parents were no longer sending her money and she had no means for paying for the charges.

Murphy discovered the charges and contacted the New Orleans Police Department.

The documents read Groux-Holt told Murphy that she used the credit card to pay her bills, personal purchases and other people's tabs at what is now "Satchmo's."


She faces charges of theft, which carry a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Groux-Holt said in an e-mail, "I am truly sorry. During an extremely difficult time, my actions were completely irrational and misguided. It was never my intention to hurt anyone, and I can only seek forgiveness."


Abby Gordon, marketing senior and president of Loyola's Panhellenic Council, declined to comment.


Robert Reed, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, declined to comment because the case is being handled in court.


Meredith Hartley, university spokeswoman, said she did not want to comment about the charges because it is a Panhellenic Council issue.


Kyle Niederpruem, spokeswoman for National Panhellenic Conference, said the "NPC has not been informed about this case through any formal channels."


Groux-Holt's next court appearance, a rule to show cause hearing, is set for Dec. 2.


Jean-Paul Arguello can be reached at jarguell@loyno.edu
 
 

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30 comments

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Anonymous
Tue Nov 30 2010 20:44
She does? Where did you get this information?
Anonymous
Mon Oct 25 2010 17:53
Maybe the case was dismissed, but D'Auria still has an attachment for her arrest, so she is still in trouble. Maybe the Maroon doesn't want to make her life any harder than it already is.
Anonymous
Wed Aug 4 2010 17:00
This case was dismissed in it's entirety by Loyola University. The "facts" stated here are all inaccurate. The police report was falsely written.
Your name
Wed Jan 6 2010 02:07
i hope the maroon will follow this story and report on the resolution of this case. unfortunately its a necessary evil of the news business that people get charged with a crime and readers take the report as recounting exactly what the person did when its just an accusation at that point. people should probably reserve judgment until its actually resolved.
Your name
Sun Nov 1 2009 17:28
Underage drinking, Pot = victimless crime

theft = 7th Commandment
Theft = hurts other people
Theft = deprives sororities of resources to recruit
Theft = victims

Your name
Sat Oct 31 2009 23:52
Everyone is so up in arms about this student breaking the law when you guys are out every night drinking when you're not 21 and smoking marijuana.
Oopsie.
Your name
Wed Oct 28 2009 06:47
Ethically wrong, sure. But how about illegal? Lots of people do unethical things. She crossed that line into criminal.
Your name
Mon Oct 26 2009 13:39
Yes, she is a nice girl. She did something ETHICALLY wrong. What was her mental illness at the time? Kleptomania? She needs to not only pay the money back but also face any and all charges that are brought upon her. I don't care if she bought me a roast beef po'boy at Satchmo's. She committed a CRIME and needs to face the punishment. Maybe d'Auria didn't realize that the credit card given to her by Loyola wasn't being charged to Daddy's account. Oopsie.
Your name
Mon Oct 26 2009 13:38
Yes, she is a nice girl. She did something ETHICALLY wrong. What was her mental illness at the time? Kleptomania? She needs to not only pay the money back but also face any and all charges that are brought upon her. I don't care if she bought me a roast beef po'boy at Satchmo's. She committed a CRIME and needs to face the punishment. Maybe d'Auria didn't realize that the credit card given to her by Loyola wasn't being charged to Daddy's account. Oopsies.
Your name
Tue Oct 20 2009 20:43
There you go. Criticize the messenger, ignore the message. That makes lots of sense.
Your name
Tue Oct 20 2009 17:19
Poor reporting. Too few facts and direct quotes. Misleading. How is this timely?
Your name
Tue Oct 20 2009 11:05
Come on! She stole from every sorority on campus. We had an impossible task of trying to rush without a budget thanks to her. We had to BEG SGA for money thanks to her. I'm sure d'Auria is a nice girl, but what she did was impossible to defend. That money was supposed to go for the good of ALL the sororities, not one member of one organization. Come on. My parents don't give me money either. Do I steal from EVERY SORORITY? No, I get a job. I get loans. I deal with it!
Your name
Mon Oct 19 2009 22:51
while i was not aware of this until now, I've been friends with d'auria for years, and have seen her go through the worst year of her life. that she did this is sad, but it was also obviously a cry for help, (which has been answered.) for anyone who has known her during her time at loyola, you know that she is an amazing individual, and that she took these actions while suffering with mental illness will i hope be taken into consideration by those who have ever considered her to be a friend. i love you d'auria, that won't change kiddo.
Your name
Sat Oct 17 2009 13:37
While I understand the importance of publishing this story, and that d'Auria should be held accountable for her actions, I do think this article is a bit misleading. She got put in jail back when she was arrested in February, right? The lede makes it seem like she's currently in jail. Why didn't the Maroon cover this back then?
HELLO!
Fri Oct 16 2009 19:08
According to the court documents, Groux-Holt told Jessica Murphy, the former assistant director for Co-Curricular Programs, when confronted about the charges that her parents were no longer sending her money and she had no means for paying for the charges.
HELLO!
Fri Oct 16 2009 19:07
Where in the story is a mental illness mentioned?

Where in the story is it mentioned that she is willing to pay the $800.

Going by the fact that are reported on the Maroon. If you are going to criticize then take it to the newspaper.

Your name
Fri Oct 16 2009 15:55
the close-mindedness here is appalling.

does it not stand for ANYTHING that she was one of the most involved and cross-departmental leaders on campus for over three years?

and can she not be sorry for something that was done while dealing with a mental illness?
i would have thought the loyola community would be more compassionate.

also, she did offer to repay the ~800 that was actually spent (some alleged charges are that she spent 1500 on NOLA Sound... obviously not personal and an organizational expense). but loyola didn't want to support her and said that a report had to be filed.

loyola's reputation of showing grace is not very clear at the moment.

HELLO!
Fri Oct 16 2009 13:17
d'Auria IS QUOTED IN THE STORY APOLOGIZING FOR HER WRONG DOINGS!

Groux-Holt said in an e-mail, “I am truly sorry. During an extremely difficult time, my actions were completely irrational and misguided. It was never my intention to hurt anyone, and I can only seek forgiveness.”

If she even used the freaking card once on a pack of gum it would still be f-ed up. We are talking about the possible use of thousands of dollars from a student organizations funds. If she immediately paid this all back then I would say "whatever" but that isn't the case. This is insanely irresponsible on her part.

Not reporting this would be irresponsible.

Your name
Fri Oct 16 2009 09:48
How is it irrelevant? She used a student organization sponsored credit card in an inappropriate and, more importantly, illegal manner. This is a crime that happened on and/or around campus perpetrated by a student designated a leader by her peers. She has admitted to it, and now must pay the consequences. It is not our job, nor is it of the Maroon, to judge this person. It is the Maroon's job, however, to report the news using whatever sources it has available. Neither the Maroon or Jean-Paul Arguello's reporting of the situation will seal d'Auria's fate. Her actions and testimony have done that.
Your name
Fri Oct 16 2009 04:16
Though Jean-Paul specifically references a court document for the entirety of the article, much of this document is incorrect. I understand that the article based on lack of comments from researched sources, but it doesn't make any of facts necessarily true. Not only was d'Auria's choice to leave Loyola and pursue other endeavors pre-planned, but she was A) not in possession of said card, B) never made charges to the underground, C) is not dealing with this in court in December and will not be facing jail, and D) approximately $2500 of the alleged spending was actually for recruitment costs, let alone the rest.

For those that know her, please understand that unforeseeable circumstances can lead anyone to do things that are uncharacteristic of their person and values.

As students of Jesuit education, I urge you to practice forgiveness and show grace. If you actually care about her and not just about the gossip, feel free to contact her. While she has dealt with demons, she has always been a true, kind-hearted, welcoming person.

We may be blinded by a world of created black and white, but be true to yourself and realize that there is sometimes gray area. We create the laws, yet we are so quick to judge those who uncharacteristically fall victim to them.

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