Church and School Embezzlement

Vegas priest who stole church money to gamble sentenced to prison.

2012-01-15T04:57:00.000-08:00

From: LATimes.com

For years, Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe lived something of a double life.

He was widely admired by his flock at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, which he helped build into one of the largest Roman Catholic parishes in the Las Vegas area. But at the same time, he was stealing money from the church.
He stole from the gift shop. He stole from the votive candle collection. He stole from a fund for novenas, or Masses in honor of the dead. Over nearly a decade, he pocketed about $650,000.
His motive was all too familiar in slot-machine-heavy Nevada. McAuliffe was a gambling addict.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan sentenced the priest, who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the thefts, to more than three years in prison and ordered him to pay restitution. In doing so, the judge waved off the defense's request to give McAuliffe probation.
McAuliffe’s attorney, Margaret Stanish, asked the court to consider his lifelong devotion to the Catholic Church, which started with helping nuns when he was a schoolboy. McAuliffe has also been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and depression, she said, but in recent months had “excelled” in gambling addiction treatment.
“Some supporters see the potential for something good to come from the realization that their trusted spiritual leader also suffers from human frailty, a frailty that merits forgiveness in accordance with their religious beliefs,” she wrote.
Indeed, dozens of parishioners asked the court to show mercy. Before McAuliffe’s gambling addiction was made public, some parishioners told reporters he must have had a Robin Hood-type reason to steal. McAuliffe, 59, appeared to them a picture of humility, with his scuffed boots and banged-up Cadillac.
At St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, he oversaw the construction of a K-8 school and a community center, and he promoted collections of socks and underwear for the homeless, court papers said. He has since resigned as the church’s pastor, and the local bishop restricted his authority to perform various priestly duties.
“I speak for myself and many from our very large congregation, that we are sorry for what Fr. Kevin has done," parishioner Karen Kinney said in a letter to the court, "but all the good that he has done for all of us over these many years has outweighed the sin of taking the money from our Church."
But the judge was more heavily swayed by prosecutors, who focused on the length and depth of McAuliffe's deception. He falsified parish financial reports and shuffled money among accounts to cover his theft, court papers said.
McAuliffe never sought treatment for his betting problem, prosecutors said, though he could have through the church or private counselors. He also left his own savings untouched as he burned through the church's money.
“The defendant worked diligently within the church, was bestowed with a position of high honor, responsibility, and trust, and abused those bestowals,” wrote Christina Brown, an assistant U.S. attorney.

Guerneville woman charged in Santa Rosa church embezzlement postpones plea in California

2011-12-12T19:54:00.000-08:00

A Guerneville woman accused of embezzling more than $712,000 from a Santa Rosa church postponed entering a plea during a court appearance Tuesday morning.

Eleanor Jane Zapanta, 51, waived her right to a preliminary hearing so that settlement talks could continue between her attorney and the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office prosecutor.

Zapanta, who has remained in custody since her September arrest, faces a maximum of 12 years in state prison. Sources close to the case said she hopes for an agreement with the judge that would limit her sentence to three years in exchange for a plea.

In court Tuesday, Judge Ken Gnoss set a new enter-of-plea hearing for 8:30 a.m. Dec. 6.

Investigators said Zapanta wrote about 250 unauthorized checks to herself from 2004 to 2010 while working as the business manager of the Center for Spiritual Living on Occidental Road.

Controversy causes rift at Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church in Michigan

2011-12-12T19:51:00.000-08:00

A local preacher is accused of embezzling thousands of dollars in church money. Now investigators are examining church records going back several years.

The attorney for Reverend Arthur Pearson denies the claims but the allegations have left the church in turmoil. For 84 years, Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church, at 510 Franklin St. SE, has had a reputation in Grand Rapids based on honor and trust.
"Trust, respect, knowing that we had a faith that we believed in. We had a God we believed in," says Church member Johnnell Williams.
But now, all of that is at risk due to allegations surrounding the church's pastor Reverend Arthur Pearson.
"He's stolen from God," claims Johnnell Williams.
Johnnell and her husband Clay Williams are long standing members of Pilgrim Rest. Johnnell since she was a teenager, and Clay was a trustee until a year and a half ago. They both say they were devastated when rumors started to surface that thousands of dollars in church money had been taken without authorization.
During a telephone interview, Nathan Mayfield, chairman of the deacon board said in August Pearson admitted to the congregation that he took $5,000 in unauthorized funds.
"Somebody had found out about what he had taken that is the reason he confessed in front of the church," said Clay.
His wife said, "And I had talked to the trustee and said if he has admitted to $5,000 trust me there is probably more. And he started to question a little bit more."
The Williams and Mayfield say Pearson made another admission in October. This time to the executive board. The admission by Pearson involves taking amounts of $20,000 and $25,000 on separate occasions.
"I think he needs to make restitution and if this is a federal or felony he needs to pay the consequences. He knew," said Johnnell Williams.
She says she, and other women in the church, pressured the trustees and deacons to remove Reverend Pearson and press charges as well as hire a firm to conduct a forensic audit. A captain with the Grand Rapids Police Department would not say who or how many people they are investigating, but did confirm that church leaders have filed a police report alleging embezzlement and misuse of church funds. That captain says this investigation is ongoing and the prosecutors office is aware of it.
Reverend Pearson's lawyer denies any wrongdoing. In a telephone interview, attorney Jerry Ashford, one of Pearson's lawyers said the "allegations are unfortunate and absolutely false. He said no crime was committed here."
Meanwhile the church is divided on Pearson's future. Members were asked to vote on November 13th on whether the church should fire Pearson. The majority voted, nearly two to one, to keep him in the pulpit.
The following Sunday WZZM 13's Angela Cunningham attended service at Pilgrim Rest to see what Reverend Pearson had to say to his congregation about the allegations against him and the vote to keep him. She noticed several church members mentioning how surprised they were that Pearson did not mention anything about the investigation or the missing money."
"This is the money that we were supposed to use top build our church and strengthen our community, strengthen our children, support our children and we are not doing that," Johnnell said.
The question now is can this house divided still stand in the midst of all this controversy.
Some church members, including the Williams question the validity and results of the vote to retain Pearson because they claim children as young as five years old were allowed to vote.

Church director charged with embezzlement

2011-12-12T19:42:00.000-08:00

Church director charged with embezzlement

Guerneville woman charged in Santa Rosa church embezzlement postpones plea

2011-11-25T19:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/

A Guerneville woman accused of embezzling more than $712,000 from a Santa Rosa church postponed entering a plea during a court appearance Tuesday morning.

Eleanor Jane Zapanta, 51, waived her right to a preliminary hearing so that settlement talks could continue between her attorney and the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office prosecutor.

Zapanta, who has remained in custody since her September arrest, faces a maximum of 12 years in state prison. Sources close to the case said she hopes for an agreement with the judge that would limit her sentence to three years in exchange for a plea.

In court Tuesday, Judge Ken Gnoss set a new enter-of-plea hearing for 8:30 a.m. Dec. 6.

Investigators said Zapanta wrote about 250 unauthorized checks to herself from 2004 to 2010 while working as the business manager of the Center for Spiritual Living on Occidental Road.

In crisis, National City Christian Church’s members find strength in Washington D.C.

2011-11-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

From Washingtonpost.com

The Rev. Stephen Gentle stood at the pulpit of his historic District church Sunday and urged his congregation to give thanks — for the good and the bad. “We have had to learn to give thanks and praise to God,” Gentle said, “as we have been meeting one challenge after another, after another.”

To Gentle and others at National City Christian Church, the past few years have been a never-ending crisis. Like many downtown churches, it has seen its membership and fundraising dwindle. The church was rocked by a former pastor’s plagiarism in 2003. Then, August’s earthquake caused tens of thousands of dollars in unsightly damage that the church cannot afford to repair.

Worst of all, the congregation’s leaders have had to spend the past three years unwinding an $850,000 embezzlement scam that drained National City’s budget and forced the church to cut back on its ministry and staff.

Some members left the congregation, and others spoke of closing the church’s doors. But a core group refused to quit. Whether it was fixing choir chairs, answering phones, cleaning the sanctuary or pulling weeds and planting flowers on church grounds, dozens of congregants banded together. In some ways, the fallout from the scam has made National City stronger.

“These last few years have been extremely difficult,” Gentle said. “But we have seen the congregation come together like we have not seen in a long, long time.”

National City, the nearly 170-year-old flagship congregation of the 660,000-member Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), routinely drew 800 people to worship on Sundays in the 1950s and 1960s. President James A. Garfield preached from its pulpit, and President Lyndon B. Johnson regularly attended services.But at a recent Sunday service at the majestic church on Thomas Circle, about 125 worshipers, many of them retirees, sat scattered among 62 pews.

The scam only exacerbated National City’s problems. It came just a few years after the congregation was embarrassed by news that its pastor, the Rev. Alvin O’Neil Jackson, had plagiarized sermons delivered by another minister. Jackson left the church and was replaced in early 2006 by Gentle, a soft-spoken pastor of a Florida church. Gentle’s mission, as many members saw it, was to help heal the reeling church.

For a few years, Gentle made progress. But the church was tested again in 2008, when its leaders found discrepancies in financial records. At first, they thought their chief financial officer, Jason T. Reynolds, was simply a bad bookkeeper. Then they realized Reynolds had stolen about $850,000 in church money to buy cars, flat-screen TVs and jewels.

At one point, Reynolds gave Gentle and his sixth-grade son two tickets to a Washington Wizards game. Gentle realized later that Reynolds’s tickets had been financed by his church.

“I was literally sick to my stomach when I realized that,” said Gentle, 51, who would testify at Reynolds’s trial. In August, Reynolds was convicted of 12 fraud-related charges, and Gentle wrote a letter to the federal judge on the eve of sentencing that described the “pain, distrust and financial hardship” that had been inflicted on his church. On Nov. 9, Reynolds was sentenced to more than eight years in prison.

The scheme, which ran from 2002 through 2008, clobbered the church’s finances. Reynolds had covered up his theft by shifting money from one account to another but had left many invoices unpaid. The church was forced to dip into its endowment to pay a $40,000 electric bill or face darkness. It had to cut back on its ministry, including slashing a popular summer-enrichment program for kids. Gentle and church leaders cut the institution’s $2.4 million budget in half. One-third of its 21 workers were laid off.

The church’s endowment, also battered by a bad economy, fell from $8.4 million in 2007 to its current level of $4.8 million.

At meetings, members vented about their next steps, even wondering whether they should shutter the congregation. In the end, members and Gentle say, their choice was obvious: They would not surrender to a crime.

“We felt very strongly that as a church of God, how dare we even think about closing the doors?” said Loretta Tate, the congregation’s lay leader.

Soon after learning that her church was in financial trouble, Kathleen Swihart, a staffer who had looked after elderly and sick parishioners for more than 20 years, approached Gentle — and laid herself off because she knew the church was going to be strapped for money. The same afternoon, the 78-year-old started volunteering, continuing to help the elderly while also taking shifts at the church’s front desk, which is now staffed by a rotating squad of congregants.

Barbara Collins, a retired teacher and longtime church member, began recruiting volunteers. They spent months reupholstering dozens of church chairs. They published the weekly bulletin and monthly newsletter. When the cleaning and grounds crews were eliminated, volunteers began scrubbing the church and cutting grass. Over two summer Saturdays, they planted dozens of impatiens and mums to form a cross on the front lawn.

The food pantry, which serves the area’s poor, had once been overseen by staffers. Like so many other duties, it soon was taken over by volunteers. To thank the pantry’s unpaid workers, another crew recently remodeled the drab windowless space, with its stained walls and leaky pipe, leaving it clean and brightly painted.

On Monday, four volunteers were expected to help decorate the sanctuary for Christmas; 18 turned up. “It just warms your heart,” said Collins, choking up as she watched congregants fluff artificial Christmas tree limbs and place red and white poinsettias in the choir loft.

Off to the side was Gentle, who stopped by to check on the volunteers’ progress. A day earlier, he had spoken from the pulpit about faith, hope, betrayal by a trusted employee and giving thanks “even in times of hardship like the embezzlement and theft.”

As he watched the volunteers scurry about, the pastor said nothing.

He just smiled.

Ex-church treasurer in Neiilsville gets jail for embezzling $127,000 in Wisconsin

2011-09-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

A Neillsville church treasurer guilty in an embezzlement scam was sentenced Thursday to six months in jail and ordered to pay $127,555 in restitution.

John L. Roenz, 63, of Neillsville began repaying Calvary Lutheran Church immediately, ponying up $100,000 of his restitution shortly after he was sentenced, according to a Clark County clerk of courts official.
Roenz was sentenced to 20 days in jail, after which he will be eligible for electronic monitoring. He also was sentenced to 36 months of probation and is required to perform 1,250 hours of community service.
Roenz pleaded guilty June 29 to one felony count of theft and two felony counts of fraud. He initially was charged in March with 12 felony counts for embezzling $132,430 from the church since 2004.
Records indicate Roenz, a former teacher in the Neillsville school district, wrote 1,176 checks totaling $140,055 to himself since 2003, but state law allows him to be charged only for offenses dating to 2004.
Roenz said he wrote checks to himself, cashed them, paid bills with the cash and destroyed the receipts at the end of each year.
The church treasurer for about 24 years, Roenz told police he stole from the church only in 2010. He said he was angry at the Calvary congregation because it was operating in the red and "no one cared, so he thought he would just take the money."
Roenz also told police he occasionally gambled and used most of the money for "going out to eat." He failed to pay $8,684 in state income tax from 2004 through 2009.

Church reports embezzlement in South Bend, Indiana

2011-09-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

South Bend police are investigating an alleged embezzlement at the New Jurasalem Baptist Church in the 200 block of North Johnson Street.

The suspects in the case, a man and a woman, are reportedly former employees of the church. They are accused of embezzling about $2,500, according to a police report.
Police say the alleged misappropriation originated from a First Source Bank checking account the two were authorized to use. One of the suspects reportedly had access to write checks.
The alleged offenses occurred between Aug. 11 and Sept. 12.
The case has been turned over to a fraud investigator. No arrests have been made

Former Cave Spring Elementary PTA treasurer gets 6 months in jail in Virginia

2011-09-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

Despite repaying the almost $25,000 she stole and reading a tearful apology to Cave Spring Elementary School in court, Melissa Brown Neal earned a sentence of six months in jail for embezzling and forging checks from the school's PTA.

Neal, 38, was sentenced Monday in Roanoke County Circuit Court to four years for two felony convictions of forgery and eight years for two felony convictions of embezzlement. Judge Jim Swanson suspended all but 180 days in jail and four years probation from that 12-year sentence. Neal will learn next week whether she will be eligible to serve the 180 days on house arrest, which would allow her to continue to work.
Neal's attorney, Tony Anderson, had asked the judge not to send her to jail because she had repaid the group in full and given back to the community.
"Once all this came to light, you did everything right," Swanson told Neal before stating her sentence. "It doesn't erase that what you did occurred, what you did was wrong, what you did was recurrent."
Swanson added that he sentenced her to jail because of the message it would send back to the teachers, students and families who know about the situation and had supported the PTA.
Neal, a mother and accountant, was the group's volunteer treasurer since 2006. During the 2009-2010 school year she wrote checks to herself and signed the name of the PTA president, according to court documents.
At first, investigators thought the amount of money missing was a few thousand dollars.
Later in a taped confession to police, Neal said she needed the money to pay for a line of credit that had ballooned.
In May, she pleaded no contest to nine felony charges.
"It was a snowball effect," she wrote in an email to former PTA President Keller Sadler. "I hardly recognize myself."
Neal repeated the sentiments in court Monday as she read from a prepared statement and wiped tears from her cheeks.
The PTA hasn't dwelt on the incident, and Cave Spring staff, teachers and parents continue to support the group, current PTA President Jackie Martin wrote in an email.
This year, the group expects to bring in $44,700 through fundraising activities, less than $500 short of what the group raised during 2009-2010, when Neal committed her crimes, according to a proposed budget available on the group's website.
There's a possibility that Neal could spend most or all of her sentence on house arrest, a decision made by the Roanoke County Sheriff's Office - not the judge - when she reports to jail Monday.
To decide whether she'll qualify for house arrest, the sheriff's office will perform a background check and review her criminal record, which includes no run-ins with the law other than a speeding ticket, her attorney said. If placed under house arrest, Neal would wear a GPS tracker, take weekly drug and alcohol tests and may continue to do essential tasks, such as go to work, according to sheriff's Deputy Michael Arrington.
Since March, Neal has been employed by Laura Reed Wright, a lawyer with a small practice in the area.
Wright told the judge Monday that she trusts Neal and has allowed her to print checks for her business but not sign them.
"She's not placed the blame anywhere other than her own shoulders," said Wright, who met Neal last year through their children. "I entrust her with my child, who's my most prized possession."

Ex-Lawrence in Massachusetts school chief heads to trial in Nov.

2011-09-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

FROM http://www.chron.com/ -

The fraud and embezzlement trial of former Lawrence public schools Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy has been set for late November.

The Nov. 29 trial date was scheduled Monday during a pretrial hearing in Salem Superior Court.
Laboy has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and embezzlement for allegedly using school department employees and resources for his own purposes, and to one count of illegal possession of alcohol on school property.
Laboy, hired in 2000, was fired by the School Committee in April 2010, about a month after he was indicted and arraigned.
Some 6,000 pieces of evidence have been submitted in the case, including school contracts, travel and expense documents, grand jury testimony

Prominent pastor faces probe over alleged embezzlement in Korea

2011-09-23T19:44:00.001-07:00

Rev. Cho Yong-gi, the founder of one of the world's largest Christian churches, may face an investigation by prosecutors over allegations that he and his family embezzled large amounts of church funds, church elders said Tuesday.

A group of 29 elders at Yeouido Full Gospel Church in Seoul filed a suit Monday against Cho and his first son Cho Hee-jun, the former CEO of the church-affiliated local daily Kookmin Ilbo, accusing them of misappropriating over 20 billion won (US$ 17.4 million) of church funds for speculative stock market investment.

School tech specialist charged in North Carolina

2011-09-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

FROM - http://www.newsobserver.com/

Police charged a charter school employee with stealing two computers from the school and then attempting to sell them online.

Wake Forest police on Monday charged Stephen Blake Johnson, 26, of Wake Forest with one felony count each of embezzlement and possession of stolen goods, according to records filed Thursday at the City County Bureau of Identification.

Police were contacted Monday by school officials at the Franklin Academy in Wake Forest, according to a search warrant filed at the Wake County Clerk of Courts Office.

Principal David Mahaley and information technology specialist Mitch Hitchcock told police an Apple MacBook laptop computer was missing.

Hitchcock told the police that only he and Johnson had access to the computer, according to the court affidavit.

Hitchcock also told the police that he went online and saw a laptop of the same make and model as the missing one for sale on Craigslist, the classified ad website.

Investigators contacted the Craigslist seller, who sent a serial number for the laptop that was on sale. The serial number matched the number of the missing computer, police reported.

Police visited Johnson's home Monday, and he handed over the missing computer, court records show.

Police charged Johnson with embezzlement and took him to the Wake County jail.

The next day, Hitchcock conducted an inventory of Franklin Academy's computers and noticed an HP Compaq also was missing.

Hitchcock went back online to Craigslist and found that computer also for sale. Johnson was listed as the seller for that computer as well, court records show. Police then filed the second charge against Johnson, a CCBI spokeswoman said Thursday.

Investigators on Tuesday night searched Johnson's home and found the second computer, court records show.

Johnson was released from jail Monday after posting a $3,000 bond.

He was arrested again Tuesday night and released from custody after posting a $700 bond, a jail spokesman said.

The case is still under investigation, Bill Crabtree, a Wake Forest spokesman said Thursday.

Santa Rosa church embezzlement totals $712,000 in California

2011-09-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

FROM http://www.pressdemocrat.com/ -

Sonoma County prosecutors on Wednesday filed a 14-count criminal complaint against a Guerneville woman suspected of embezzling more than $712,000 from a Santa Rosa church over a period of seven years.

An arrest warrant was issued for Eleanor Zapanta, 51, who worked as the business manager for the Center for Spiritual Living of Santa Rosa, who was named after a months-long investigation.
Zapanta is believed to have stolen the money from 2004 to 2010 through more than 250 unauthorized check transactions, Chief Deputy District Attorney Bill Brockley said.
She is charged with seven felony counts of grand theft by an employee, seven counts of forging business documents and a white-collar crime enhancement for fraud in excess of $500,000, Brockley said.
She faces up to 12 years in state prison if convicted, he said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Zapanta had not been arrested and prosecutors said they did not know her whereabouts.
Prosecutors would not provide details about how the theft went undetected or how it was discovered.
“The facts we're alleging speak for themselves,” Assistant District Attorney Christine Cook said.
Norma Miller, a 20-year church member and senior spirit organizer, said the money loss came to light when two board members became suspicious. But more details weren't available.
Senior minister Ed Vijoen has not return calls over several days seeking comment. He announced the loss to parishioners after Sunday services over the past two weeks.
Rumors had been swirling for days among congregants that Zapanta may have fled law enforcement. She was charged with two felonies for each year of the alleged theft. The total loss was $712,948, Brockley said.
Investigators from the Santa Rosa Police Department began looking into the case this spring, Cook said.

The 1,000-member center is located on Occidental Road. It is affiliated with the United Centers for Spiritual Living based in Golden, Colo.
According to the center website, members honor and respect “the interconnectedness of all life.” The center features an animal ministry and drum circles, among other activities.
In an interview last year, Viljoen said the center finances its $1.2 million annual budget with donations. Book sales and fees from classes generate additional revenue.
The alleged embezzlement is just the latest in a string of similar thefts this year on the North Coast.
It is the biggest so far, eclipsing the $400,000 police said was stolen from the Kids Street Learning Center in Santa Rosa by a former business manager. In that case, Sheila Accornero, 42, of Cloverdale is suspected of taking the money over 2 1/2 years.
She pleaded not guilty in August.

Former Oakland church treasurer ordered to repay almost $400,000 in California

2011-09-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

FROM http://www.mercurynews.com/-

A former treasurer of an Oakland church who stole more than $400,000 from parish coffers was sentenced to a year of electronic monitoring Friday and ordered to repay most of the money taken from the St. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Church.

In a plea deal with the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, which appeared to frustrate several church members, Gary Alexanian, 47, was found guilty of grand theft instead of the more serious embezzlement crime he was originally charged with.
In addition, Alexanian agreed to repay the money he stole, submit to a year of electronic monitoring and serve five years probation.
Parish members declined to comment after the sentencing Friday but in a letter to the probation department, the parish council said Alexanian deserved prison time for stealing.
"A crime of this size cannot be rewarded with simply a probationary scolding," the letter stated. "The criminal activity perpetrated by Mr. Alexanian has shaken the Church to its core, profoundly impacting the parish community."
Alexanian, who was baptized at the church, had stolen the money during his more than decade long tenure as the parish's treasurer. The money was gathered, church members have said, through bake sales and other yearly fundraising events.
In the letter to the probation department, the parish council said they erred in putting full trust in Alexanian who they said began stealing within the first 45 days he was appointed treasurer.
Michael Cardoza, Alexanian's defense attorney, said his client is sorry for his actions and began to steal because of financial pressures in his life.

In a letter to the court, Alexanian said he was ashamed and said his actions have led to a crumbling of his life, which includes a pending divorce demanded by his wife and ostracization from the Bay Area Armenian community.
"Because of my actions, my wife has moved for a legal separation, we are losing the house and I have personally lost some of my family members, and all of my friends," Alexanian wrote. "I acknowledge that it was selfish, stupid, and before long, things just got out of control."
Cardoza said his client hopes the church members will eventually be able to forgive him.
"What was most shocking to me is the first issue was repayment of money. Not one member of the church ever asked him how he was doing," Cardoza said. "We hope that the church, in their hearts, can forgive him."

Richmond woman accused of embezzling money from church credit union in Virginia

2011-09-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

FROM http://www.wtvr.com/ -

A Richmond woman has been charged with embezzling money from a church's credit union.

Police say 60-year-old Debra Morris, of the 4600 block of Mason Dale Way in Richmond faces two counts of embezzlement from the St. Paul’s Baptist Church Credit Union.
"We all feel that we know people, but we don't know people. It's just society."
By some accounts, Saint Paul Baptist church is known for it's family atmosphere with members helping other members.
But according to Henrico police,
60-year-old Debra Morris allegedly helped herself to something else.
She's accused of stealing more than 40-thousand dollars.
"I feel that you can't control people that doesn't have anything to do with the church at all. I feel like people are going to do what they're going to do," said Rhonda Lilly.
Church leaders say between June of 2008 and April of last year, they discovered suspicious financial activity while staff were conducting an audit.
That audit prompted an investigation revealing Morris allegedly stole the money from the Saint Paul's credit union.
A credit union in which she was the President and CEO.
"I've been a member for many years and I don't want it to reflect on our Pastor Lance Watson because he's done so much for us in the community," said Joe Wortham.

Joe Wortham tells us he knows Morris personally. And doesn't believe this is something she would ever do.
"She's always greeting everyone and constantly interacting with the members. It's really a big shock."
We tried to reach Morris at her Chesterfield home to get her side of the story.
But no one answered the door.
"There is no reason to steal in my books. But, i'm just hoping she would apologize and repent, said Wortham.
Debra Morris is out on bond. She goes back to Henrico's Circuit court on October 4 at 9am.

Fenton Police Investigating Possible Embezzlement from Church

2011-09-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

From - http://fenton.patch.com/

Police are investigating a possible embezzlement from a Fenton area church.

Police received a call from church officials reporting $10,000 in missing gift cards. The gift cards were part of a program where the church gave cards to those having financial difficulties.
Fenton Police Chief Rick Aro said police are planning to interview employees and will be forwarding information to the prosecutor’s office.

Former Bells PTO president admits embezzlement in Texas

2011-09-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

From : http://www.kxii.com/

A local school board official is under fire after being accused of taking money from a school organization.

The Bells ISD superintendent announced that Jeannie Russell, who is the current president of the district's board of trustees, admitted to using money from the Parent Teacher Organization fund for her own personal use.
Karen Bounds has been part of Bells Parent Teacher Organization for nearly two years. Less than a week ago she was appointed president after the past president, who is also the current president of Bells ISD Board of Trustees, admitted to taking $2,000 from the organization.
"I was sad because a lot of parents worked very hard," said Bounds.
The news is still hard for Bounds to accept, especially since she along with several other parents worked around the clock, on their own time, to raise much-needed funds for children at the elementary school and other students in the district.
"We had a lot of cuts in the budget this last year, money is tight and short and so we need to have all these fundraisers to let the money go back in the Bells school district," said Bounds.
Bells ISD superintendent Joe Moore says the incident happened over the summer and that Russell has paid all the money back. But he says it's important for the community to know that PTO and the district are two separate entities since PTO operates under its own by-laws.
"That's two separate things and the PTO has nothing to do with Bells ISD and Ms. Russell's responsibility with it," said Moore.
Russell has since left PTO and resigned as secretary of the Athletic Booster Club. She has also submitted a letter of resignation from her position as President of the district's board of trustees.
Moore says despite the situation, Russell has been an asset to not only the school board but the community. Bounds says the PTO is now moving forward closing the old account, adding new board members and planning for the financial future of Bells ISD.
"Jeannie's done a lot of good for this school for Bells elementary and the high school, but we need to have checks and balances and that's what we're doing now is having those checks and balances in place," said Bounds.
District officials say the police have been contacted and they will continue the investigation. As of right now no criminal charges have been filed. Meanwhile the board of trustees will consider Russell's resignation at an upcoming meeting.

No contest plea in Cumberland computer theft case in Rhode Island

2011-09-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

FROM http://www.projo.com/news/ -

No contest plea in computer theft case

The former information technology director for the Cumberland School Department pleaded no contest Friday to embezzlement and conspiracy charges involving the theft of school computers that were sold to unsuspecting colleagues.
Robert Legacy, 54, of 63 Lincoln Park Ave., Cranston, who was suspended when the thefts were discovered in 2009, entered the plea before Superior Court Magistrate William McAtee. Legacy’s son, Kevin, 22, of the same address, pleaded no contest to charges of conspiracy and felony larceny.
McAtee handed down five-year suspended sentences. He also ordered that the father and son pay restitution to the individuals who unknowingly purchased the computers.
Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin said the stolen computers will be returned to the school district. He said in a news release that the plea was agreed to after consultation with the School Department.
Kilmartin declared that the prosecution had been prepared to prove that over the course of several months in 2009, Robert Legacy knowingly stole 30 new computers, and gave them to his son, an information technology employee at Cumberland High School.
The computers were later sold to a number of individuals, including a custodian, secretaries, an accountant, an elementary school principal, the high school athletics director, a high school student and the School Department’s financial manager

Principal to return to job at charter school in Richmond, Virginia

2011-09-17T13:31:00.000-07:00

FROM http://www2.timesdispatch.com/-

The embattled principal of the state's first charter elementary school is heading back to work Monday, even though a Virginia State Police investigation into alleged embezzlement at the school is ongoing.

Pamela L. Boyd is being returned to her job as principal at the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts after more than three months of paid administrative leave, said Kristen Larson, vice president of the Patrick Henry board.
Larson said the decision was made in conjunction with Richmond Public Schools administrators and was done "in the best interest of the students."
Larson would not elaborate on what that meant, and she declined to say whether the Patrick Henry board wanted Boyd back.
Richmond Public Schools spokeswoman Felicia Cosby confirmed that Boyd would return to Patrick Henry on Monday. Cosby said Boyd's administrative leave would end that day.
When asked in the past about the chance of Boyd being assigned to a different school, Cosby had said that Boyd is assigned to Patrick Henry.
The school is semi-independent. Its board sets policy on the school's academic direction, but the principal and teachers are city school system employees. The Patrick Henry board can make recommendations about hiring and firing personnel — its members interviewed Boyd and recommended that she be hired in March 2010 — but decisions are made downtown.
Boyd was placed on leave in June on the eve of the school's first graduation ceremony after news spread that a city school system audit of Patrick Henry lunch money and student activity accounts found "lack of management oversight, inaccurate monthly financial reports, failure to follow established procedures, an ineffective filing system, and incomplete documentation of transactions."
The accounts were registered to the city school system but controlled by Boyd.
"These internal control weaknesses increased the risk for a loss or fraudulent transactions," Debora R. Johns, chief of internal audit services, wrote in a memorandum accompanying the 11-page report.
Johns did not find evidence of fraud.
Meanwhile, the state police have been investigating an allegation of embezzlement involving the school. That charge may not be related to the student accounts. As of Friday, that case was ongoing.
Larson said that the state police contacted Patrick Henry board members when the case was opened but that to her knowledge, none of the board members had been interviewed or were otherwise involved in the case.
In the months since Boyd was put on leave, the Patrick Henry board has instituted a number of changes to its accounting procedures — notably, instituting a policy prohibiting staff members from unfettered control of any accounts — and is in the process of implementing an electronic account-management system.
"That will greatly cut down on the cash and the checks," Larson said. "That should make our accounting less cumbersome."
Larson said parents were notified of Boyd's return during an open house Thursday night.
She said that interim Principal Loretha Taylor would stay on indefinitely to help Boyd ease back into her job.
"A lot has happened here since [June]," Larson said. In addition to the new financial controls and systems, she said, "we've added three classes, hired six teachers and added 60 students."

Former Discovery Counseling Center head pays restitution in embezzlement plea deal

2011-09-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.mercurynews.com/

The former head of the Discovery Counseling Center has repaid the nonprofit $100,000 as part of an embezzlement plea deal that could wipe the charges from his record.

Thomas Martin was in Contra Costa County Superior Court in Walnut Creek on Thursday to report that he has paid restitution to the Danville-based group, which provides counseling services to the San Ramon Valley school district and Contra Costa County as well as to private individuals. The felony embezzlement charge to which he pleaded no contest last month was thus reduced to a misdemeanor, said his attorney, Mike Markowitz.
Martin, 47, of Concord, must also do 200 hours of community service by next year; if he does so and does not violate his probation by then, the case can be dismissed.
Martin's court appearance Thursday was brief, and he didn't speak.
He was arrested after the charges were filed but has been free since posting bail shortly after that. Martin will not have to do any more jail time under the agreement, Markowitz said outside court.
Martin declined to comment, but he released a statement through his attorney.
"Mr. Martin has the utmost respect and admiration for the work that the Discovery Center does for youth and families that it serves," Markowitz said. "He regrets his actions and any harm caused to that community."
Martin had no prior criminal history, was cooperative with authorities and is a family man with wife and children, Markowitz said.

"Everyone recognizes this," Markowitz said. "Everyone recognizes that it was an unfortunate incident."
Deputy district attorney Steve Bolen said the deal allows Martin to find other work.
"He needs to be employed to pay the money back," said Bolen, adding that Martin was able to obtain the restitution money from family and friends.
Lawson Bill, Discovery's governing board treasurer, said the group was consulted on the plea agreement and feels the result is just.
"We got a lot of our money back," Bill said. He said the group has moved on with a new leader and better financial controls. He said the center's services and number of customers have not been affected.
In March, prosecutors filed against Martin four felony counts of grand theft embezzlement by a clerk, agent or servant. The charges carried an enhancement for a loss exceeding $65,000. Prosecutors accused him of spending more than $162,000 of the center's money from July 2007 to September 2010. Most of these were credit card purchases, but $21,000 was taken in cash withdrawals.
He used a company credit/debit card linked to the center's checking account for his own day-to-day expenses, as well as luxury items, prosecutors said. The charges, some as high as $1,000, included personal Pacific Gas & Electric and water bills, services for his home pool, state Department of Motor Vehicles payments, new tires for his vehicle, airline tickets for his family and accommodations in Yosemite and at Mt. Bachelor, Ore.
This past fall, the center board hired an accounting company to do an audit in response to concerns of misconduct, and Martin was fired in October.

Cleveland pastor pleads guilty to not paying over $90,000 in income taxes

2011-09-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

www.newsnet5.com

The pastor of a Cleveland church who was federally charged with not paying more than $90,000 in income taxes has pleaded guilty.
Charles Matthews of Solon entered the during plea during a hearing Friday morning in Cleveland. He was the senior pastor of Mount Sinai Baptist Church and Ministries in Cleveland.
He was facing six counts in the information that was filed earlier this week -- and pleaded guilty to all of those counts. He could face 18 to 24 months in prison when he's sentenced.
Matthews was in charge of two financial accounts at the church – one for the church itself and one for his own use, dubbed a pastor’s account.
The information alleged that while Mt. Sinai deducted and collected the required income tax and FICA withholdings from the total taxable wages of its employees, Matthews “willfully failed to report and pay over to the Internal Revenue Service those withheld taxes.”
Prosecutors alleged Matthews instead “caused those funds to be used for other purposed including transfers into the pastor’s account for his own personal use.”
According to the information, Matthews also failed to report and pay the employer’s share of FICA taxes.
The total amount prosecutors said Matthews failed to pay between October 2005 and January 2007 was $90,767.43.
According to the church's website, Dr. C. Jay Matthews was named pastor of the church in January 1988.

Detroit school computers, cash stolen; 2 ex-DPS employees, 8 others charged

2011-09-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

FROM THE DETROIT FREE PRESS -

Two former Detroit Public Schools employees and eight others have been charged with felonies in connection with the theft of school laptops, computer equipment and cafeteria money, as well as breaking into schools, officials announced Thursday.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, along with leaders from DPS, announced the charges in 10 school-related criminal cases.
The total losses in equipment and damages to buildings amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars, Worthy said."When people commit crime and violate the trust of the school system, they are taking from our children," Worthy said. "We will not allow criminals to take away the future of DPS students."
The cases are the result of a collaborative effort between DPS emergency manager Roy Roberts, the DPS Office of the Inspector General and the Wayne County Prosecutor's Public Integrity Unit.
Thieves who "think that we're not paying attention and we don't care -- they're wrong," Roberts said.
DPS has made more than 40 criminal referrals to the Public Integrity Unit since the collaboration between DPS and the Prosecutor's Office began in 2009.
Those charged Thursday include former DPS employees Toni Ausberry, 29, and Charmain Porter, 55, both of Detroit, who were charged with larceny and embezzlement for allegedly stealing cafeteria cash.
They were fired in connection with the allegations, DPS Inspector General Van Marsh said.
Detroiters Dwight Brown, 31, and Lester Sanford, 63, were charged with receiving and concealing stolen property in connection with stolen laptops.
In other cases involving stolen laptops, Detroiters Dorian Blair Jr., 19, Marque Mency, 23, Demarco Wilson, 18, Christian Williams, 19, and Thomas Fent-James Williams, 19, were charged with breaking and entering and receiving and concealing stolen property. Demonte Wilson, 19, was charged with receiving and concealing stolen property, entering without breaking with intent and larceny.
Police are looking for Brown, Demarco Wilson, Demonte Wilson, Christian Williams and Thomas Fent-James Williams. To report information on their whereabouts, call DPS police at 313-748-6000.
Additionally, former teacher Anthony Mosby, 47, of Oak Park was charged with failure of a school employee to report a conviction in connection with his 2009 drunken-driving third offense. He left the district before the charges were filed.

Former Putnam City Schools Employee Accused Of Embezzling $10,000 in Oklahoma

2011-09-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

From :http://www.news9.com/ -

Oklahoma County prosecutors have charged a former secretary at Cooper Middle School with embezzlement after thousands of dollars went missing.

The superintendent of Putnam City Schools called campus police after learning of discrepancies in the financial records. A year-end analysis of Cooper Middle School's finances indicated nearly $10,000 went missing between July 2010 and June 2011. The missing money was supposed to be deposited in student activity funds.
Lisa Loraine Marin, 43, was the school's financial secretary at the time the money disappeared. It was her first year in the position, although she'd worked for the district a total of nine years. According to court documents, Marin admitted during an interview that she'd taken the money to pay personal bills.
Marin resigned August 23. Oklahoma City Police arrested her August 30. She was released on $4,000 bond. Oklahoma County prosecutors have charged her with embezzlement and second-degree forgery.

Former Acton Parent Teachers Group treasurer avoids jail time in embezzlement case; Shannon Winchell ordered to serve community, pay back stolen funds in New Hampshire

2011-09-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.fosters.com/ -

The former treasurer of the Acton Parent Teachers Group will not serve time in jail for stealing $29,000 from the PTG over three years, but she has been ordered to do community service for the town and pay back the funds.

Shannon Winchell, 34, of Acton, was sentenced to two years in jail, all suspended, with an additional two years probation for embezzling $29,000 when she was treasurer of the parent-teacher group.
In a sentencing hearing in York County Superior Court Wednesday morning, Justice Paul A. Fritzsche also ordered that Winchell serve 250 hours of community service — in Acton, if possible — over the next 22 months and send a written apology, through the District Attorney's office, to members of the PTG. She must also pay back the money she stole from the organization.
Winchell was indicted by a York County grand jury in April for theft, "by obtaining or exercising unauthorized control over $27,000, more or less, property of Acton Schools Parent Teacher Group . . ." The actual amount was closer to $29,000, according to testimony at Wednesday's hearing.
The theft was discovered by members of the Acton PTG in August 2010 when they began to receive past-due notices for bills that had not been paid. They also found that the PTG's bank statements did not correspond to the treasurer's reports, and that the group's account balances were considerably lower than they should have been.
On the advice of an investigator in the York County Sheriff's Office, PTG officers questioned Winchell about the missing funds. She was removed from office and the sheriff's office launched an investigation.
Winchell pleaded guilty to Class B felony theft during an Aug. 25 court hearing.
At Wednesday's sentencing, Winchell's defense attorney, Joseph Mekonis, told Justice Fritzsche that his client had already repaid more than half of the amount owed to the PTG.
After a brief exchange between Mekonis and Assistant District Attorney Kent Avery, it was determined that Winchell has so far reimbursed $20,281.94 to the PTG.
"She is one of the most motivated clients I have ever had," Mekonis said, adding that Winchell had already taken "a number of measures" to try to right the wrong she had done when she called and asked him to represent her.
Winchell told the court that she works 30 hours a week as a cleaner in a hospital to pay the money back.
Speaking at the hearing for members of the Acton PTG, Vice President Susan Ottey asked Justice Fritzsche to "show no leniency in sentencing." Reading from a prepared statement, Ottey said Winchell had deprived the school and its students of opportunities to attend camp and benefit from new equipment, and the PTG had to postpone the purchase of a fire engine for the playground.
Ottey said the theft had also cost the PTG "the confidence, trust, and respect of all those who had generously donated in the past."
Fritzsche agreed that embezzlement make things very difficult for an organization.
"Normally, I would say there has to be some amount of jail time," he told Winchell. "What's different here is that you have worked very hard" to pay back the organization, he said. "That's really quite remarkable."
The community service aspect of Winchell's sentence may be more difficult to fulfill.
She said she had spoken to the Acton Elementary School principal and received permission to serve as a volunteer in the school, but that the new superintendent had declined the offer. Winchell said she had also asked to be allowed to volunteer at the town office and a church, but had still been unable to find a place to volunteer.
Fritzsche suggested that the sentence be amended to "community service in Acton, if possible," but Avery objected saying, "It is very important [to the victims, members of the PTG] that she serve her community service conspicuously in Acton."
Fritzsche concurred, but left the door open in the event that she is unable to obtain a volunteer opportunity in the town.

Theft of $9,000 suspected at PTA

2011-09-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

FROM http://www.newsobserver.com/ -

Police are looking into a report that someone embezzled as much as $9,000 from the West Cary Middle School PTA.

The possible embezzlement was initially reported to a school resource officer at West Cary, who then passed the information on to Cary police.
"They believe that it's from someone within the PTA," Capt. Mike Williams said.
Cary police are continuing to look into the possible theft, with the cooperation of the PTA, but no arrests have been made.
In 2008, the most recent year for which tax records are available, the PTA provided $74,130 in support to the school.