FROM TwinCities.Com -
Cottage Grove man accused of stealing $670,000 from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has pleaded guilty to three felony counts of theft-by-swindle.
Scott Joseph Domeier, 51, also pleaded guilty Wednesday, May 15, to two counts of filing fraudulent tax returns.
Domeier worked as accounting director for the archdiocese.
The tax charges came after investigators found that he had failed to pay state income tax on the embezzled funds. The taxes he evaded from the tax years 2006 through 2011 totaled more than $48,000, according to a criminal complaint filed in November.
His attorney, Terry Duggins, declined to comment following the plea hearing in Ramsey County District Court.
Sentencing was scheduled for July 16. According to the plea agreement, Domeier faces more than three years in prison and will likely be ordered to pay full restitution to the archdiocese.
Domeier diverted archdiocese checks to pay personal credit-card bills, private-school tuition for his children and other personal expenses, according to the criminal charges.
The thefts date to 2008. He worked at the archdiocese from 1995 to January 2012. The archdiocese put him on leave Jan. 3, 2012, after he accepted first-class airline tickets to Hawaii from a vendor and misused the archdiocese's credit card issued to him.
The archdiocese reiterated in a statement Wednesday that the theft "will not affect the archdiocese's ability to meet its financial obligations or other responsibilities, including those to parishes, schools and employees.
"Insurance has covered most of the loss, and, per the recommendations of an independent forensic audit, several internal control enhancements have been implemented at the archdiocese," the statement said.
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