The former vice president of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is now accused of stealing $1.7 million from the esteemed facility, authorities announced Thursday.

The United States Attorney’s office said that Roosevelt Hairston, Jr. effectively hid the theft from CHOP by coming up shell companies, opened bank accounts under their names, and established deceptive offices for them.

One of the prosecutors said that 55-year old Hairston used the money to support her luxurious lifestyle. He has high-end cars, a yacht and a captain to maintain it, and a real estate, among many other luxury items. The prosecutors added that the fraud begun on 1999 and continued until he was caught earlier this year.

On top of these charges, he is also accused of identity theft and deliberate lying to his co-workers and staff. Moreover, the government also charged him for failing to report income to the Internal Revenue Service.

Howard Bruce Klein, Hairston’s lawyer, said that Hairston made a lot of huge mistakes in his life and he admits to some financial irregularities. He, however, insists that there is another side to him. Klein added that Hairston works with the hungry and homeless thru his public interest law center. He also mentored many students. Klein said that he is hoping that those kind actions will be taken in to consideration as the trial proceeds.

Experts say that millions of Indians who are below the poverty line and have no access to major financial services may gain huge benefits from mobile banking as the use of cellphones continue to increase in great numbers.

Banking thru mobile phones could transform the face of India’s rural economy. However, experts say that the industry has to first alleviate concerns regarding transaction security. Furthermore, they need to overcome limited reach in far-flung areas and low literacy rate.

Amit Ahire, Ambit Capital analyst, said that the mobile banking potentials in India are huge. In a meeting Mumbai a few days ago between the banking and telecom sectors, they agreed that mobile banking is yet to be tapped. Mobile banking includes bill payments, remittances, and money transfers.

In India, there are about 19 million new mobile phone subscribers each month; the world’s quickest growing market. In fact, 10% of the world’s cellphones are sold in India according to Gartner, a technology research specialist. In the country, there are around 775 million people who use mobile phones.

In contrast, almost 50% of the adult population in India do not have bank accounts. If the banking and mobile phone sectors are tapped and used to their full potentials, consumers and the country’s economy will benefit greatly from it.

A total of 39 banks have been given permission by the Reserve Bank of India to offer mobile banking services. They have also raised the amount limit of mobile banking transactions from 5,000 to 50,000 rupees.