According to the prosecutor's statement, the two students allegedly exploited their positions as high-ranking officers of the Hasty Pudding Theatrical Club in siphoning off nearly $100,000 over the course of a year from the club's coffers into their own personal accounts.
In Gomes' case, police suspect the money was allegedly used to sustain his drug addiction, whereas Pomey indulged in frequent shopping trips and visits to the spa.
This year's theater producers, Lena Demashkieh and Joshua Bress discovered inconsistencies in their club's financial records, which led to an investigation by the Harvard University Police Department.
In a formal statement from the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the University refused to comment on the scandal, citing it as a "legal matter that is between the students and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
According to the Harvard Handbook for Students, the College does not bring disciplinary action against student criminal defendants until formal legal proceedings have been completed.
Such an incident is not completely unfamiliar to Amherst. According to Dean of Students Ben Lieber, an Amherst student who was editor of the College yearbook in the early 1990s embezzled a few thousand dollars from the Olio's advertising account. A criminal investigation ensued, but the case was dropped after the accused student returned the stolen funds. "[This incident] convinced us that we ought to keep a tighter look on these accounts," said Lieber.
In 1999, Junior Class President Rajan Menon resigned from his post amid allegations that he embezzled $1800 from The Amherst Spectator.
Amherst's financial policies involving student-run organizations primarily lie in the charge of the Student Finance Committee (SFC), which allocates funds to clubs biannually and is also responsible for auditing the financial activities of the clubs.
"In order to ensure funds are used legitimately, we require that each club turn in receipts for all of their purchases," said Acting SFC Chair Blake Sparrow '04.
"If a club doesn't fulfill the planned activities, the SFC won't allocate them money for the next semester," said Asian Student Association President Sam Jeng '03.
Lieber mentioned that the turnover rate of treasurers may also prevent embezzlement on campus. "One of the main deterrents is that they know someone's going to be looking over their shoulder and looking at the books the following year."
Since the SFC is a corporation, in the event that embezzlement does occur, "there is a hefty price to pay," said Sparrow. "We have worker insurance, which covers us in the case that anyone steals money from the SFC."
"We would treat it as a criminal matter [at the] particular point where larceny becomes a felony," said Lieber. "It's a tricky business … If you ask me, 'Could it happen here?' the answer is probably, 'Yes.'"