The former head of a Halifax County school for troubled boys was found dead in Person County, N.C., this past weekend.
Person County Sheriff Dewey Jones said the body of Robert S. Gluhareff, 63, of South Boston, was discovered by deputies Sunday morning in a wooded area off Edwin Robertson Road.
Jones said deputies found the body at 7:37 a.m. while on patrol. The North Carolina State Medical Examiner was called to the scene and determined Gluhareff's death was the result of a single gunshot wound, the sheriff said.
The medical examiner said the wound was self-inflicted, Jones added.
The sheriff said witnesses told authorities that Gluhareff's vehicle was parked on Edwin Robertson Road from Friday night until the discovery of his body Sunday morning. It is believed Gluhareff died sometime Saturday.
Gluhareff, former head of Wellspring Academy, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court last year to two charges related to bank fraud and one count each of mail and tax fraud. All other charges against him were dismissed.
Prosecutors said Gluhareff put the school in serious financial trouble, lied to parents about their tuition being tax deductible and obtained loans from multiple banks using the same piece of land as collateral.
He closed the school for troubled boys unexpectedly in April 2003, and told parents to pick their sons up immediately.
When parents asked for their tuition money back, which ran from $43,000 to $49,000 annually, Gluhareff filed for personal and business bankruptcy.
Gluhareff was sentenced in October to serve 30 months in a federal prison and pay more than $500,000 in restitution. He filed suit to vacate his sentence Dec. 26 in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, naming the federal government as defendant.
Gluhareff is survived by his wife, two sons, two grandchildren, his mother and two sisters.
Reprinted with permission of The Gazette-Virginian in South Boston.
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