May 2, 2011 – DANVILLE, Calif. — A volunteer and two former employees accused of embezzling nearly $600,000 from a Danville church were arrested and charged Monday, authorities said.
After an internal investigation that began in May 2010 at St. Isidore’s Catholic Church, Kathleen Dake and Virgilio Lukban were arrested on suspicion of embezzlement Monday.
Prosecutors told the Contra Costa Times that Dake, 58, and Lukban, 46, were charged with 5 counts of embezzlement. A third person, Evelyn Peinado, 64, has been charged with 3 counts. The three are accused of embezzling a combined $580,000 from the church.
Danville police Chief Steve Simpkin told the newspaper that the three embezzled about $360,000 through the use of credit cards, while Dake allegedly took another $220,000 by using church checks for personal expenses.
In a statement, Diocese of Oakland spokesman Mike Brown said church officials began an internal investigation in May 2010 when the pastor of the church noticed “irregularities” in the parish financial office.
When the Diocesan Finance office was notified in August 2010, it reported the irregularities to the Danville Police Department, which began a criminal investigation, the statement said.
Dake was the full-time office manager at the church, while Lukban was a full-time facilities manager, according to Brown.
Peinado was not an employee, but worked as a volunteer and is a member of the church.
Dake was being held on $433,000 bond and Lukban on $134,000 bond. Both were expected to be arraigned Tuesday, said Danville police Det. Sgt. Allan Shields.
Peinado was arraigned Monday, released on her own recognizance and ordered to return to court later this month, according to Shields.
It was not known if any of the three had retained attorneys.
Posted By rodneypires on May 3, 2011
Category: Church Embezzlement
Tags: Church Embezzlement
Sentenced: Henry M. Humphrey, 72, pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky, to two years in prison, and ordered to pay $831,742.56 in restitution, “for conspiring to defraud the United States, soliciting kickbacks of federal funds, committing wire fraud, submitting a false writing to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and conspiring to launder money.” [press release, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky]
Posted By rodneypires on January 20, 2011
Category: Church Embezzlement
Tags: Church Embezzlement
January 19, 2011 -
Gregory Sims, pastor at The Crossroads Church of Dade City, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for embezzling money from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 915.
As part of the sentenced, U.S. District Judge Virginia Covington ordered Sims to repay $813,142, the proceeds of the embezzlement, a statement form the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said.
Sims, who managed the IBEW funds, pleaded guilty in September. He was accused of unlawfully diverting money from the union funds to the Crossroads Church, the statement said.
Posted By rodneypires on January 20, 2011
Category: Church Embezzlement
Tags: Church Embezzlement
November 19, 2010 – CHINO — A former administrator at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills has pleaded no contest to embezzling money from the church.
Farrukh Ahmed, 48, entered his plea Thursday in Chino Superior Court as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors that carries a nine-month jail sentence.
Ahmed’s plea bargain also calls for him to be placed on probation for three years and to pay $25,000 in restitution to the church. The Ontario resident is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 20.
Ahmed was arrested in December by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies who accused him of embezzling about $750,000 from the church between 2006 and 2009.
Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten said that Ahmed is required to repay only $25,000 because prosecutors felt they would have been unable to prove the embezzlement was as extensive as church officials believed.
Posted By rodneypires on November 22, 2010
Category: Church Embezzlement
Tags: Church Embezzlement
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) – October 19, 2010 – The former bookkeeper at an Idaho Falls church has been sentenced to three days in jail for embezzling more than $2,000.
Seventh District Judge Gregory Anderson sentenced 58-year-old Terri Lee Ward Johnson on Monday. He ordered her to pay $1,875 in restitution to Holy Rosary Catholic Church, perform 100 hours of community service and spend three years on probation.
If Johnson completes probation and the terms of her sentence, Anderson said the charge could be expunged from her record.
The Post Register reports Johnson was arrested on April 5 after church officials reported just over $2,000 missing. She pleaded guilty to felony grand theft in August as part of a plea agreement. Johnson was sentenced Monday. Currently, embezzlement is the #1 crime against churches in America! What measures have you taken to ensure your church is not next. Do you perform background checks on all your employees and volunteers? How often do you repeat these background checks? Are you conducting annual audits by a third party? What check and balances do you have in place to ensure the safety of God’s money?
Posted By rodneypires on October 19, 2010
Category: Church Embezzlement
Tags: Church Embezzlement
Attorneys for the Rev. Donald Armstrong and the Pueblo District Attorney’s office were pleased Monday with the plea agreement in the criminal case involving the former rector of Grace and St. Stephen’s Church in Colorado Springs.
A Fourth Judicial District grand jury indicted Armstrong in May 2009 on 20 felony counts of embezzling $392,000 from Grace Church. Armstrong on Friday pled no contest to one felony count, according to El Paso County court files. Though Armstrong in his plea doesn’t admit guilt, the court views it in a legal sense as a guilty plea.
As part of the agreement, Armstrong admitted guilt to a new charge, misdemeanor theft, said Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut. A sentencing hearing on this charge will happen before the end of the year.
Armstrong’s sentence could include a fine of up to $5,000 and up to 18 months in the El Paso County Jail. Misdemeanor charges are brought for thefts between $500 and $1,000.
On the felony count, Armstrong has been placed on four-year’s probation. If violated, he will be a convicted felon and could face four to 12 years in prison.
Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/armstrong-104949-indicted-don.html#ixzz10qSlMBrw
Posted By rodneypires on September 28, 2010
Category: Church Embezzlement, Uncategorized
Tags: Church Embezzlement
A 48-year-old Port Huron Township woman charged with stealing money from St. Edward On-the-Lake Catholic Church has a plea hearing at 1:45 p.m. Monday in St. Clair County Circuit Judge Daniel Kelly’s courtroom.
Jacalyn O’Boyle is charged with embezzlement $100,000 or more. O’Boyle worked for the church for 15 years. The missing money was discovered during a July audit
Posted By rodneypires on May 3, 2010
Category: Church Embezzlement
Tags: Church Embezzlement
A former daycare director at a macon church has been charged with more than 400 counts of forgery and theft. Right now, Paula Cowan is out on bond for one count of theft back in 2008 when the investigation first started. But as the investigation grew, so did the charges against her.
Page after Page of copies of forged checks will be used as evidence against Cowan, who is the former director of daycare at Riverside United Methodist Church in Macon.
An arraignment date for Cowan to plead guilty or not guilty has not been set. If the case goes to trial and if she is found guilty on all counts, prosecutors say she could face up to 5,500 years behind bars, along with paying back the stolen money.
Posted By rodneypires on April 8, 2010
Category: Church Embezzlement, Church Theft
Tags: Church Embezzlement, Church Theft
CHINO, Calif. — Prosecutors say the former administrator of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills embezzled nearly $1 million.
Farrukh Ahmed has been charged with felony grand theft with embezzlement and felony grand theft of personal property. The 48-year-old Ontario man was arrested in December and he posted $50,000 bail.
Calvary Chapel pastor Jack Hibbs says up to $960,000 was stolen from the church.
Posted By rodneypires on April 8, 2010
Category: Church Embezzlement
Tags: Church Embezzlement
Carpenter’s Chapel Inc., a church on Dogwood Road in Solway, has filed suit in Knox County Chancery Court against former pastor Hobart Randalls “Randy” Tinch, alleging he robbed church coffers of $347,000 during his 19-year tenure there. Attorney Steve Shope, who is representing the church, said information gleaned from an audit of the church’s books will be turned over to authorities for a criminal probe. Tinch, who lives in Oak Ridge, could not be reached for comment.
Shope described Tinch as a “charismatic” figure who used church offerings to support a lavish lifestyle that included pricey cars and expensive trips. The church was unaware of Tinch’s alleged thievery until he stepped down as pastor in January 2008, when a resulting audit by a certified public accountant uncovered the misappropriation, Shope said.
Posted By rodneypires on March 19, 2010
Category: Church Embezzlement
Tags: Church Embezzlement
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