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Community Shocked by Accusation of Theft

There, the court clerk decided there was "probable cause," according to District Attorney Martin F. Murphy, and an arraignment date was set for March 8.

Szekeres didn't show up to the February hearing, but is required by law to attend the arraignment. There, she will be formally charged with one count of larceny over $250 by single scheme and will officially enter a plea.

By law, the case will go to court within 100 days of the arraignment. It is up to Szekeres whether the judge or a jury will decide the case.

If she is found guilty, she would face a maximum punishment of up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $25,000, according to Murphy.

In addition, the court can order her to pay restitution to the house committee in the amount that it can be proven she embezzled.

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Shocked by the Accusation

Those who know Szekeres say they're surprised that she's being accused of a crime and that she's taking a leave of absence this year. And her close friends--who may know the real explanation--aren't talking.

"Anyone who might have known Natalie would have difficulty thinking that was possible," says Sandra E. Whitten, Szekeres' Advanced Placement senior English teacher at Holmdel High School in Holmdel, N.J.

The daughter of a doctor and an international businessperson who travels frequently, Szekeres had no apparent financial problems, her friends say.

In fact, her former teacher says Szekeres came to develop a strong appreciation of her station in life.

Whitten remembers Szekeres telling her of a trip her family took to visit relatives in Hungary. After the vacation, Szekeres remarked to her teacher that she was taken aback by the discrepancies between Hungary's standard of living and America's.

"She found that a lot of what we take for granted in the U.S. is different for people there, [and that] Americans are really quite fortunate in what we have here," Whitten recalls.

During her time at Harvard, Szekeres built a reputation for house spirit and involvement in house life, according to those who know her.

In fact, her friend and high school classmate Mark R. Freeman '97 says he used to tease her about how seriously she took her position as treasurer of the Currier House Committee.

Szekeres was also treasurer of the Crimson Dance Team last spring, an organization which has had no financial difficulties of its own, according to Captain Roxanne S. Pan '96.

"It never would've crossed my mind that she would have done something like that," Freeman says. "I don't know what to think now. I'm not passing judgment."

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