Official at The Master’s University Arrested in Connection with Alleged Embezzlement at High School Where He Was Principal

The director of the career services department at The Master’s University has been arrested on felony charges of embezzlement and perjury in connection with an exchange student program at a local high school where he was formerly principal.

Bill Bolde, 65, was taken into custody Dec. 11 by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Fraud Cyber Division after turning himself in, and was being held on $45,000 bail, KHTS reported.

The exchange program between GaoXin, China, and Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, where Bolde was principal for 14 years and a teacher for 16 years, has been the subject of an ongoing investigation, the sheriff’s office said.

Over his 30 years at Saugus High, Bolde taught driver’s education and health and served as athletic director, as well as an assistant principal, then principal. He joined the staff at The Master’s University—also in Santa Clarita and where author, speaker and pastor John MacArthur serves as chancellor—after his retirement from the school district in 2017.

David Diamond, Bolde’s attorney, told KHTS the charges stem from a “frivolous lawsuit” others had filed to “cover up their own wrongdoing,” and that law enforcement officials had never interviewed Bolde regarding the case despite his willingness to cooperate.

“My client has served the Santa Clarita community with distinction, and he would never do anything to discredit his integrity, his family or his relationship with God,” Diamond said.

Bolde is in his fourth year as executive director of Career Services and Advancement at The Master’s University, helping to connect students with jobs.

Before it was removed from the University’s website, Bolde’s profile recorded him as saying, “Every day, I thank God for the opportunity to get up, and I ask Him, ‘Who will you put in front of me today? Whose life do you want me to impact today? Is it a student? Is it someone who’s hurting, or grieving, or someone going through a deep challenge? How can I bring some sunshine into somebody’s life?”

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