Ex-Sandy Springs principal Eddie Echols charged over school card expenses

A popular Sandy Springs principal who resigned amid damaging audit revelations is now facing criminal charges.

Riverwood Inteational Charter School Principal Eddie Echols resigned in September after a routine audit revealed that he used an unauthorized American Express card linked to the school to make personal purchases.

Echols had been principal since 2002 and had been with the school since 1993.

An investigative letter obtained by Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik said that Echols admitted to school investigators he had used the card to pay for a rehearsal dinner for his family and to buy tickets for his wife to attend a conference with him. The letter said Echols "also provided that he had encountered financial difficulty, which is inferred as a possible reason for use of the credit card for personal expenses."

Auditors wrote that Echols reimbursed the district for some of the purchases but that they could not verify that all purchases were reimbursed because Echols didn't provide a detailed list of all expenses.

Fulton County School District spokeswoman Samantha Evans told Petchenik there was no evidence Echols stole any money or that he broke the law but then, the county district attoey picked up the case.

Last month, Echols was arrested on charges of theft, identity theft and credit card fraud. He has since bonded out of jail.