But that was before a Villanova University student started going through bank records and discovered one discrepancy after another.

They added up to $1.9 million of questionable transactions.

Not only did the Delaware County District Attorney's office put the culprit away for five years, but it saved thousands in professional forensic accounting fees.

In a program apparently duplicated in few other jurisdictions, undergraduate students from Villanova's business school work side-by-side with detectives from the county's economic crime unit investigating embezzlement, identity theft, forgery and fraud cases.

The students have traced more than $5 million in stolen funds since 2004.

"What we do in this unit is follow the money," said Sgt. Joseph A. Ryan.

Previously, the county would hire professional firms at $150 to $300 per hour. Villanova students earn about $12 an hour.

"It was fascinating," said Lauren Schulman, a 2006 Villanova grad. "I got to be part of the whole prosecution.

With the number of white collar crimes increasing along with the cost of each investigation, District Attorney G. Michael Green and Ryan contacted their alma maters to gauge interest from the forensic accounting program.

Villanova called back.

The students, Ryan said, help with the "nuts and bolts" of combing through "boxes of records" looking for irregularities, allowing the detectives to focus on more typical detective work.

The efforts of the program's first co-op student, Matthew Nobel, led to the arrest of Thomas J. Motley, the Swarthmore investor. In 2005, Motley pleaded guilty to 22 counts of fraudulent business practices and securities fraud in two investment schemes and received five years in prison.

Nobel is now working at Goldman Sachs, an investment banking and securities firm, in New York. Goldman Sachs would not allow Nobel to comment for this story.