Ex-treasurer charged with stealing $107,000 from D.C. church

A Laurel man has been accused by federal authorities of stealing more than $100,000 from a Northeast Washington church while he worked as its treasurer.

Michael W. Tibbs, 31, was charged in U.S. District Court in Washington with transportation of stolen money, federal prosecutors wrote in a "criminal information," a charging document that usually signals a plea deal is near.
Tibbs and his attorney could not be reached. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael K. Atkinson declined to comment. The church's pastor, Floyd Patterson, declined an interview request.
The charges were filed Friday but not made public until Tuesday.
Tibbs worked as the treasurer for the Greater St. Paul Baptist Church in the 5700 block of South Dakota Avenue NE from 2003 through 2006, court papers show.
Prosecutors say that Tibbs wrote checks to himself on the church's bank account and used its debit card for personal expenses.
He sometimes noted on the checks' memo lines that the payments were for repairs and funerals, prosecutors wrote.
He also wrote checks to an unidentified person, who deposited the money into an account jointly controlled by Tibbs. They spent the stolen money on personal expenses, prosecutors wrote.
Tibbs is also accused of using the church's debit card to pay for telephone bills, his wedding reception and a wedding cake, prosecutors wrote.
The scam cost the church about $107,445 from January 2004 through October 2006, prosecutors wrote.
To conceal the scam, prosecutors wrote, Tibbs created fraudulent balance sheets and created a phony tax audit for church leaders.
No hearing date has been set.