Thousands embezzled from Warren, Michigan church

The 76-year-old former treasurer of a Warren church committed a sin that could land her in prison for up to 15 years, police and prosecutors say.

Officials allege that Helen Gvozdic of Roseville embezzled more than $79,000 from St. Stevan Decanski Serbian Orthodox Church, located on 11 Mile Road. She also is one of the church’s founding members.
Police reviewed more than 100 pages of church financial documents, including ledgers, bank records, canceled checks and receipts, before presenting the case to the Macomb County Prosecutors Office for review.
Gvozdic faces one count of embezzlement of more than $50,000 but less than $100,000. In addition to incarceration, the felony offense also is punishable by a $25,000 fine or an amount equal to three times the dollars in question.
“I feel I’m not guilty. That’s why I’m here,” she told The Macomb Daily on Tuesday at 37th District Court, where her scheduled preliminary exam was adjourned.
The probable-cause hearing was rescheduled to May 31 before Judge Dawnn Gruenburg.
Gvozdic said the accusations by church officials against her started at $20,000, increased to $50,000, jumped to $100,000 and that some church members think she took $250,000.
“It’s always different,” she added.
Church members including the new treasurer declined to comment for this report.
According to court records, the embezzlement occurred between January 2008 and December 2009. She later resigned.
Warren Detective Cpl. Brian Kajewski said Gvozdic was responsible for depositing church funds into the bank. He said the missing money stems from checks remitted to “cash.”
Kajewski said church members brought their suspicions to the attention of Warren police in May 2010.
“The church had set up a review board when this happened, a panel of church members that have gone over the receipts,” he said.
But records were written in Serbian. In the following months, Gvozdic traveled to Chicago where she maintained her innocence, during meetings with top officials of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Those leaders later met with members of St. Stevan Decanski church.
A few months ago, a forensic account who studied the financial records turned the documents, translated to English, over to Warren police.
Kajewski said Gvozdic agreed to be interviewed by him during the investigation. He said she denied any wrongdoing and that she claimed she had provided all receipts. When she was told weeks later that the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office had authorized a warrant against her, she promptly turned herself in at Warren police headquarters earlier this month.
The Roseville woman has remained free on a personal recognizance bond.
Defense attorney Earl Adamaszek declined to comment Tuesday because he had not yet read any police reports.
Adamaszek was appointed to represent Gvozdic at taxpayer expense. Defendants who request a court-appointed lawyer must show they are indigent. The Roseville woman claims she lives in an apartment paying over $400 rent, is not employed, has no money in the bank and drives a 2007 Dodge Avenger, according to court records.