Judge accepts guilty plea in church embezzlement case in Ohio

A federal magistrate judge has accepted a guilty plea from Stanley S. Chapman, formerly of Aurora, on two counts of embezzling money from the Blessed Hope Missionary Baptist Church of Cleveland and on two counts of failing to pay income taxes.In April, federal prosecutors charged Mr. Chapman with four counts of income tax evasion and 12 counts of employment tax offenses. The government alleged that between 2003 and 2006, Mr. Chapman embezzled $336,777 from the church by diverting federal FICA tax money to his own account.The indictment alleged that Mr. Chapman failed to report taxable income of approximately $283,136 and income taxes of approximately $51,301 for those years.Sentencing has been set for Dec. 15.