FROM JSONLINE.COM -
Authorities are investigating a possible theft of funds from St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Oak Creek.
Church treasurer Mike Kuick confirmed Friday that the probe is ongoing and that a staff person has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome. He said the church's finance committee noticed accounting irregularities about two months ago and turned the information over to the Oak Creek Police Department. A police spokesman said it is working with the Milwaukee County district attorney's office on the investigation.
Police and church officials declined to comment Friday on the amount.
Showing posts with label CHURCH EMBEZZLEMENT WISCONSIN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CHURCH EMBEZZLEMENT WISCONSIN. Show all posts
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Church members sue for financial records in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
FROM JSONLINE.COM -
Members of a Milwaukee church have sued it and its pastor to obtain financial records the lawsuit claims have been withheld from an audit committee.
The suit, filed Monday in circuit court, names Jeremiah Missionary Baptist Church Inc., 4519 W. Villard Ave., and pastor Eugene Cowan II as defendants. The named plaintiffs include David L. Mays, a deacon, and unnamed "concerned members" of the church.
Cowan said he did have an audit and internal control review done when he first came to the church from Michigan in 2010 and found no missing money or improprieties. He said a disgruntled faction in the congregation numbers fewer than 10 of the church's 350 members.
"They've caused a ruckus or split, but the church has healed since that point," Cowan said Tuesday.
According to the complaint:
Church members concerned about the church's finances decided in May 2009, three months after the sudden death of their pastor, the Rev. Reginal T. Moore, to conduct an audit of the church's finances and formed a committee led by Mays that also was tasked with considering new bylaws for the church.
Cowan became pastor in February 2010 and initially refused to cooperate with an audit, the suit contends. He later turned over some paperwork but not the detailed bank account information, canceled checks and credit card records requested.
Members are concerned that funds have gone missing without explanation and that Cowan has threatened to excommunicate members who continue to challenge his use of church money.
Some church members also voted to adopt new bylaws, but in January, Cowan moved to disband the audit committee and revert to the previous bylaws, all without proper notice, the suit says.
"Pastor Cowan has in every way opposed, frustrated, and refused to cooperate with Jeremiah's Audit & By-Laws Committee," the suit says.
The suit asks that a court order Cowan and the church to allow inspection of all the requested financial records and also claims Cowan has breached his fiduciary duty to the church and threatened its status as a tax-exempt organization. It seeks unspecified damages, costs and any unjust enrichments Cowan might have received as a result of any breach of duty.
Members of a Milwaukee church have sued it and its pastor to obtain financial records the lawsuit claims have been withheld from an audit committee.
The suit, filed Monday in circuit court, names Jeremiah Missionary Baptist Church Inc., 4519 W. Villard Ave., and pastor Eugene Cowan II as defendants. The named plaintiffs include David L. Mays, a deacon, and unnamed "concerned members" of the church.
Cowan said he did have an audit and internal control review done when he first came to the church from Michigan in 2010 and found no missing money or improprieties. He said a disgruntled faction in the congregation numbers fewer than 10 of the church's 350 members.
"They've caused a ruckus or split, but the church has healed since that point," Cowan said Tuesday.
According to the complaint:
Church members concerned about the church's finances decided in May 2009, three months after the sudden death of their pastor, the Rev. Reginal T. Moore, to conduct an audit of the church's finances and formed a committee led by Mays that also was tasked with considering new bylaws for the church.
Cowan became pastor in February 2010 and initially refused to cooperate with an audit, the suit contends. He later turned over some paperwork but not the detailed bank account information, canceled checks and credit card records requested.
Members are concerned that funds have gone missing without explanation and that Cowan has threatened to excommunicate members who continue to challenge his use of church money.
Some church members also voted to adopt new bylaws, but in January, Cowan moved to disband the audit committee and revert to the previous bylaws, all without proper notice, the suit says.
"Pastor Cowan has in every way opposed, frustrated, and refused to cooperate with Jeremiah's Audit & By-Laws Committee," the suit says.
The suit asks that a court order Cowan and the church to allow inspection of all the requested financial records and also claims Cowan has breached his fiduciary duty to the church and threatened its status as a tax-exempt organization. It seeks unspecified damages, costs and any unjust enrichments Cowan might have received as a result of any breach of duty.
Friday, July 16, 2010
La Crosse, Wisconsin Church employee accused of embezzlement
A former employee at a North Side church is accused of embezzlement, according to La Crosse police reports.Ann Carson, 47, is accused of taking the funds from North Presbyterian Church, 1327 N. Salem Road, during the past decade by writing checks to herself, then logging them in account ledgers as paid to someone else, reports stated. An audit revealed a number of checks had been altered and cashed for large sums of money, but police did not release an amount.Carson, of Onalaska, was arrested Thursday and is expected to be charged with embezzlement when she appears July 23 in La Crosse County Circuit Court.
Ann Carson was more than a church secretary. To the members of North Presbyterian Church, she was a friend and confidant. They trusted her with their feelings — and their offerings.Over the past decade, Carson pocketed more than $364,000 of their money.For that, she’ll spend the next three years in prison.“Our church loved Ann and felt she loved us in return,” the Rev. Scott Skogen said Friday in La Crosse County Circuit Court. “She embezzled money that could have done so much good.”Carson stole more than $85,000 of donations made in memory of loved ones, the pastor said, as well as money for local and international charities. The theft was discovered after a church member attempted a financial audit in 2009. An external audit showed Carson had been writing checks to herself and falsifying the books.Skogen, who has known Carson for more than 20 years, said it is difficult to request justice for someone who has been a friend.“I knew today, whatever happened, there was going to be no sense of joy for us,” he said after Carson’s sentencing. “I hurt for our church, and I hurt for Ann.”District Attorney Tim Gruenke said Carson was a manipulative person who looked her victims in the eye even as she stole from them and also took $40,000 from a trust for her brother.“That’s a pretty hard heart, to steal from a church and your own family,” Gruenke said.Carson, 47, sobbed as she apologized to a courtroom of her family and church members.“I can only imagine the pain the congregation is feeling,” she said. “And for that, I’m so very sorry.”Her attorney argued her behavior was fueled by a borderline personality disorder and fear of abandonment.“It can’t be that simple,” La Crosse County Circuit Judge Ramona Gonzalez said.Carson showed remorse only at being caught, Gonzalez said, not for a decade of betrayed trust.In 16 years on the bench, only once before had she handed down a prison sentence purely as punishment, Gonzalez said.“The breaking of a trust is something the law has no power to replace,” Gonzalez said. “You have to pay and you don’t have the money. The only thing I can take from you … is your time and your freedom.”Carson’s sentence includes 15 years on extended supervision and requires her to put a quarter of her earnings toward repaying the entire $364,418.12.Carson hugged family members before being taken into custody. The longest embrace came from Skogen.
Ann Carson was more than a church secretary. To the members of North Presbyterian Church, she was a friend and confidant. They trusted her with their feelings — and their offerings.Over the past decade, Carson pocketed more than $364,000 of their money.For that, she’ll spend the next three years in prison.“Our church loved Ann and felt she loved us in return,” the Rev. Scott Skogen said Friday in La Crosse County Circuit Court. “She embezzled money that could have done so much good.”Carson stole more than $85,000 of donations made in memory of loved ones, the pastor said, as well as money for local and international charities. The theft was discovered after a church member attempted a financial audit in 2009. An external audit showed Carson had been writing checks to herself and falsifying the books.Skogen, who has known Carson for more than 20 years, said it is difficult to request justice for someone who has been a friend.“I knew today, whatever happened, there was going to be no sense of joy for us,” he said after Carson’s sentencing. “I hurt for our church, and I hurt for Ann.”District Attorney Tim Gruenke said Carson was a manipulative person who looked her victims in the eye even as she stole from them and also took $40,000 from a trust for her brother.“That’s a pretty hard heart, to steal from a church and your own family,” Gruenke said.Carson, 47, sobbed as she apologized to a courtroom of her family and church members.“I can only imagine the pain the congregation is feeling,” she said. “And for that, I’m so very sorry.”Her attorney argued her behavior was fueled by a borderline personality disorder and fear of abandonment.“It can’t be that simple,” La Crosse County Circuit Judge Ramona Gonzalez said.Carson showed remorse only at being caught, Gonzalez said, not for a decade of betrayed trust.In 16 years on the bench, only once before had she handed down a prison sentence purely as punishment, Gonzalez said.“The breaking of a trust is something the law has no power to replace,” Gonzalez said. “You have to pay and you don’t have the money. The only thing I can take from you … is your time and your freedom.”Carson’s sentence includes 15 years on extended supervision and requires her to put a quarter of her earnings toward repaying the entire $364,418.12.Carson hugged family members before being taken into custody. The longest embrace came from Skogen.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
La Crosse, Wisconsin Diocese priest accused of embezzlement
A priest has been accused of embezzling almost $200,000 from the Diocese of La Crosse and two Crawford County parishes, according to the Crawford County Sheriff's Department. The Rev. Robert Chukwu, 59, was arrested today in La Crosse and faces a charge of theft from a business setting of more than $10,000 when he appears in Crawford County Circuit Court.
Diocese attorney Jim Birnbaum informed Crawford County District Attorney Tim Baxter on Jan. 15 that Chukwu had taken $196,000 from St. Mary Parish in Gays Mills and St. Philip Parish in Soldiers Grove and the La Crosse Diocese, according to the sheriff's department.
Chukwu, who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Nigeria, confessed to Birnbaum and another priest that he invested parish and diocese money in Nigeria for a better interest rate rather than sending it to the diocese, the department stated.
Along with the funds, Chukwu sent a 40-foot container filled with artificial flowers, candlesticks, pedestal tables, clothing and other items purchased locally to his family, a nun and a school in Nigeria, the department stated.
The items were purchased using insurance money and donations from the parishes and diocese for damages to the church from the 2007 flood, according to the department.
Chukwu is in the Crawford County Jail pending a court appearance.
He was transferred to La Crosse on Jan. 19 to "insure the necessary independence and integrity of the investigation," according to a diocese statement.
Diocese attorney Jim Birnbaum informed Crawford County District Attorney Tim Baxter on Jan. 15 that Chukwu had taken $196,000 from St. Mary Parish in Gays Mills and St. Philip Parish in Soldiers Grove and the La Crosse Diocese, according to the sheriff's department.
Chukwu, who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Nigeria, confessed to Birnbaum and another priest that he invested parish and diocese money in Nigeria for a better interest rate rather than sending it to the diocese, the department stated.
Along with the funds, Chukwu sent a 40-foot container filled with artificial flowers, candlesticks, pedestal tables, clothing and other items purchased locally to his family, a nun and a school in Nigeria, the department stated.
The items were purchased using insurance money and donations from the parishes and diocese for damages to the church from the 2007 flood, according to the department.
Chukwu is in the Crawford County Jail pending a court appearance.
He was transferred to La Crosse on Jan. 19 to "insure the necessary independence and integrity of the investigation," according to a diocese statement.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
FOND DU LAC, WISCONSIN PASTOR RESIGNS AFTER CONFESSING TO EMBEZZLEMENT
On December 15, 2009, Fond du Lac police say a pastor at a Lutheran church is admitting he stole thousands of dollars from the collection basket.
Investigators say The Reverend Stuart Zak, 55, took as much as $10,000 from church offerings collected during the holidays during a ten-year period.
Police say they haven't seen a case like it ever before.
The pastor who was serving his congregation for years at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fond du Lac, police say, was also taking right out of the collection basket.
"Apparently they were doing some auditing on books, and so they came up with a discrepancy in the funds and they started their internal investigation," Captain Steve Klein, Fond du Lac Police Department, said.
The result of the internal investigation, according to the church's news release, Reverend Zak "confessed his sin."
The remaining pastor declined to go on-camera to talk about what happened or how the congregation feels, but in a news release he describes it as being a difficult time where people are grieving.
"There is forgiveness in the Lord. And we, as a church council, forgive Mr. Zak," the news release says.
But at the same time, the release says the church council is figuring out how to make sure this doesn't happen again.
Police expect to refer their investigation to the district attorney's office later this week. Reverend Zak has resigned from his position and in the past two weeks paid back the church $10,000.
Zak will no longer be able to serve as pastor in any Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) congregation
Investigators say The Reverend Stuart Zak, 55, took as much as $10,000 from church offerings collected during the holidays during a ten-year period.
Police say they haven't seen a case like it ever before.
The pastor who was serving his congregation for years at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fond du Lac, police say, was also taking right out of the collection basket.
"Apparently they were doing some auditing on books, and so they came up with a discrepancy in the funds and they started their internal investigation," Captain Steve Klein, Fond du Lac Police Department, said.
The result of the internal investigation, according to the church's news release, Reverend Zak "confessed his sin."
The remaining pastor declined to go on-camera to talk about what happened or how the congregation feels, but in a news release he describes it as being a difficult time where people are grieving.
"There is forgiveness in the Lord. And we, as a church council, forgive Mr. Zak," the news release says.
But at the same time, the release says the church council is figuring out how to make sure this doesn't happen again.
Police expect to refer their investigation to the district attorney's office later this week. Reverend Zak has resigned from his position and in the past two weeks paid back the church $10,000.
Zak will no longer be able to serve as pastor in any Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) congregation
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