Former Chilhowie Little League official charged with embezzlement

A jury trial is set for next month for a former official with the Chilhowie Little League organization accused of embezzlement.

Aaron Lee Heath was indicted in a case related to embezzling a rifle that was being raffled off as a fund raiser in 2017, according to court information obtained by WCYB.

Heath was indicted by a grand jury in December and is scheduled for trial March 6.

Wife of Kingsport Pastor accused of stealing over $10,000 from church youth group

The wife of a Kingsport pastor, who is accused of stealing more than $60,000 from his church, is now facing charges for stealing from the church’s youth group.

A Sullivan County Grand Jury indicted Sharon Holder with theft over $10,000.

Kingsport police say she stole more than $10,000 dollars from Victory Apostolic Church’s youth group account.

This stems from a 2015 investigation where police charged her husband and pastor of the church, Boyd Holder, with theft over $60,000 and money laundering.

Kingsport Police Department Public Information Officer, Tom Patton, says the investigation began after members of the church asked law enforcement to look into their funds.

“There was some indication early on that she may have been involved. Cases like this involving embezzlement of lots and lots of monies from multiple accounts often require extensive investigation,” he said.

Boyd Holder’s trial is scheduled to begin on March 29, 2017.

Sharon Holder’s next court appearance is scheduled for December 2. She is out of jail on a $6,500 bond.

Former St. George Greek Orthodox treasurer pleads guilty to theft of $400,000 in Tennessee

The former treasurer of St. George Greek Orthodox Church will serve the first portion of a 10-year split sentence in a Knox County jail this month after his guilty plea Friday to stealing more than $400,000 from church coffers.

Constantine D. Christodoulou, 48, of Knoxville is slated to report Jan. 22 to begin serving one year in jail, with nine years on probation, according to Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen.

Christodoulou is entitled to whatever jail credits he can accumulate to shorten the sentence, said Assistant District Attorney General Sean McDermott.

Knox County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Martha Dooley said jail officials were unable to say how much time could be shaved off Christoldoulou's one-year sentence. She said jail officials did not have Christoldoulou's paperwork, so they couldn't determine which sentence-shrinking credits might apply to his case.

Credits can be awarded for good behavior, educational courses, substance abuse classes and working around the jail.

Christodoulou's sentencing concludes a story that began Feb. 26, when the Rev. Anthony Stratis informed church members through a letter that the former treasurer had been stealing from them for years. Church officials did not report the theft to police until two months after the News Sentinel published a story on the embezzlement. Stratis had initially written in the letter that the church would not seek prosecution.

Christodoulou between Dec. 30, 2010, and Feb. 21, 2015, "wrote checks to himself from church accounts that were not authorized by church officials," Allen stated in a news release. He placed the money into "business and personal accounts," she said.

Allen placed the total theft at $415,950. Christodoulou has repaid $145,000 of the pilfered money, Allen said, and the church's insurance company paid $50,000 on the claim.

Allen said the church spent $3,725 internally investigating the theft.

Christodoulou has agreed to pay another $224,675 in restitution, Allen said.

"Under the terms of this agreement, we made sure Christodoulou will serve time in custody for his crime and will be supervised upon his release," Allen said. "Most importantly, we have retained jurisdiction over the case to make sure Christodoulou pays his restitution and the church is made whole."

Christodoulou appeared Friday morning with his attorney, Mike Whalen, before Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee and agreed to be charged through a bill of information. Through that agreement, Christodoulou waived his right to a grand jury review or to a trial.

Christodoulou's probation means officials will have legal control over him to be sure he repays the embezzled money.

Christodoulou did not respond to calls for comment.

"It's a lot of money," Whalen said Friday.

He would not address what the money was spent on.

"Once it became apparent, he admitted to it," Whalen said.

Whalen said Christodoulou sold his travel business and a house to raise the $145,000 already repaid and plans to sell other properties to reimburse the church. He said the Christodoulou family had been active in the church for decades, but Constantine Christodoulou apparently no longer participates in church services.

"This is a community he has been a part of all his life, so it's not been easy on him," Whalen said.

McDermott said he didn't know what Christodoulou had done with the pilfered money.

The theft left the church with less than $2,000 in its bank accounts, prompting church leaders to approve obtaining a $150,000 loan to stabilize finances.

The low cash balance also delayed a decision to install a fire alarm system that had been reviewed and approved by the church, Stratis said.

At 6:50 a.m. April 12 — the Eastern Orthodox Easter — a passerby reported flames in the sanctuary. By then, flames already had damaged the ornate dome in the sanctuary and raced through the structure.

Knoxville fire investigators eventually settled upon candles used in the night service that ended early in the morning April 12 as the probable cause of the fire. Someone had tossed a candle in a trash can and didn't douse it in the tray of sand at the rear of the sanctuary, investigators said.

Ex-booster club treasurer pleads guilty to embezzlement

The former treasurer of the Carter High School Band Boosters Club pleaded guilty Tuesday to embezzling more than $33,000 from club funds.


Amy Michelle Sherrod, 39, pleaded guilty to felony theft at a hearing in Knox County Criminal Court. Judge Scott Green set an April 2 sentencing hearing at which she likely will seek probation and, possibly, judicial diversion. Diversion, if granted by Green, would keep the conviction off her record if she obeys the law during a probationary period.

Sherrod was charged by a sealed presentment handed up by a Knox County grand jury in September. Assistant District Attorney General Bill Bright sought the charge after a probe by the state Comptroller’s Office.

The embezzlement occurred between January 2012 and August 2013.

The comptroller’s report stated Sherrod stole at least $33,700 by issuing herself checks and then recording false and misleading entries in the club’s records to cover up her thievery.

Treasurer arrested in Hillsboro PTO embezzlement case

The Williamson County Sheriff's Office has arrested a Thompson's Station woman on charges of stealing thousands from the Hillsboro School Parent Teacher Organization.

Billie Sue Barker, 44, was arrested Friday and is being charged with theft of more than $10,000. Her bond is set at $50,000.

Barker was the treasurer of the elementary and middle school PTO for the past year. More than $20,000 is believed to be missing from the PTO's account at a local bank. A Williamson County School District internal auditor is assisting to determine the actual amount, officials said.

The money was slated for the purchase of laptops for students at the kindergarten through eighth-grade school, located near Leiper's Fork. The discovery of the missing money was made last week when a PTO check intended to purchase 23 laptops bounced at a local bank.


"It's not right to steal money from kids," said Jennifer Smith, PTO president-elect, who said much of the money was raised during the school's Barnaroo Fall Fest. "We have safeguards in place, and (this person) circumvented every one of them."

Unfortunately, the temptation to steal is real, and it happens more than people want to believe, said Jim Wilson, a certified public accountant and certified fraud examiner. His Bellevue firm assisted in the case of a woman who stole $150,000 from an elementary school's parent-teacher association in Metro Nashville Public Schools.

In that case, Julie Buchanan was convicted in 2007 for taking money from the Granbery Elementary School PTA fund meant for a student at the school who was dying of cancer.

Schools are often a target because there are no controls in place, Wilson says.

"Here's the money. It's very tempting to go get a check and write it out," he adds. "There are a lot of tricks to the trade; they seem to be multifarious. It comes out quite often that schools, churches and the elderly — where someone puts their trust in someone, and they take liberties."

If there is a silver lining to the situation, Superintendent Mike Looney says insurance may help the the parent organization recover some of the mon

Church member accused of embezzlement in Carter County in Tennessee

A long-time church member in Carter County has been accused of stealing more than $100,000 from his church.

Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes said Tuesday evening that Silas Edward Sams was charged with theft over $60,000.

He was indicted this past week by a Carter County grand jury in connection with theft from Beck Mountain Baptist Church.

Members of the church approached the sheriff’s office about the missing money. Investigators looked back several years and then brought their findings to the grand jury.

Sams has since bonded out of the Carter County Jail.

Woman Accused of Embezzlement Scheme at College Bookstore in Tennessee

 A woman that was entrusted with handling college students' money for years, pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from the Jackson Community College Book Store where she worked as a store manager.

Investigator Chad French with Jackson Police told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News that this case is arguably one of the largest amounts of money taken from a business in Jackson more than a two year period. French said police were contacted after an audit revealed more than $94,000 were missing from the bookstore.

"She was able to manipulate the paperwork accounting systems so when the cash came in she was able to manipulate the system and keep the cash for personal use," said Inv. French. "Generally it's caught before this amount but because of her position there, she was she was trusted and able to run up that amount."

Police said Nebraska Booking Company that owns the bookstore actually conducted the audit then reported the crime to authorities. School officials said the company is financially separate from the school.

"I mean I'm surprised to be honest with you that they let that go on so long that somebody could embezzle that amount of money, nearly $100,000, good heavens," said Dr. Bruce Blanding. President of Jackson State Community College.

School officials said they are doing everything they can to make sure Jackson State students are not affected, but there are concerns about the price of textbooks increasing due to theft.

"Our concern is our students receiving first class assistance in terms of having books provided to when they need them, at a reasonable cost," said Dr. Blanding.

President Blanding told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News that the college will review its contract with the bookstore to make sure students are being taken care of at the best price.

Moody entered a guilty plea to felony theft of more than $60,000. According to the judgment, she is expected to pay back $50,000 in restitution to Nebraska Book Company, serve 11 months and 29 days in jail, 200 hours of community service and nine years of probation.

School merger figure will go through pretrial program on embezzlement charges in Memphis

Businessman and political figure Tommy Hart, accused of embezzling prize money from bowling leagues at the Southaven bowling center he owns, will go through pretrial intervention, a program for first-time nonviolent offenders, instead of going to trial.

A Mississippi businessman, accused of embezzling prize money from bowling leagues at the Southaven bowling center he owns, will go through pretrial intervention. It’s a program for first-time nonviolent offenders, instead of going to trial.
The Commercial Appeal reports 71-year-old Tommy Hart must repay the nearly $47,000 in prize money to the four bowling leagues at his Cotton Bowl Lanes Bowling Center before he can begin the pretrial program.
His trial date was set for Monday.
Hart must follow all the rules of the two-year program, including monthly check-ins with the program’s intervention officer. If he fails to meet any of the program’s rules, he will be brought up for prosecution by the DeSoto County District Attorney’s office.

 A former Shelby County Commissioner is accused of embezzling money at a Southaven bowling alley.

Investigators arrested Thomas Hart on Friday, May 4. Police say Hart was supposed to handle the bowling league prize money at the Cotton Bowl Lanes Bowling Center, but stole it instead. 

"This year when we tried to get our money, back from our leagues, we never got an answer. Made four requests and no one ever responded to me," said Frank Woodson, President of the Cotton Bowl Lanes Bowling League. Hart is accused of pocketing nearly $30,000, "$18,000 in one league, and $11,000 in the other," Woodson said.

Hart is currently on the Transition Planning Commission, the group working on the unified school plan for Memphis City and Shelby County Schools. He told abc24.com he has no plans to step down in light of his arrest, and stated that the whole thing is a misunderstanding.

"When you get to be 70 years old, and this is the first time in your life you experienced anything like this, it is not a proud experience," Hart said. "We had a change in our accounting department, we had a change in management of this, so, it is a lot of balls in motion."

Thomas Hart was booked at the DeSoto County Jail and has since been released on bond. As for where the bowling leagues' money is, Hart replied, "I can't answer that."

Gallatin, Tennessee church treasurer charged with theft

A woman who was the acting treasurer of a small Gallatin church has been accused of stealing about $160,000 from the congregation.

Crystal Dycus, 30, of Gallatin is charged with theft of property over $60,000 and money laundering, according to Maj. Don Linzy of the Sumner County Sheriff’s Department.

The money allegedly stolen included about $30,000 in cash and and the rest CDs from Douglass Chapel United Methodist Church, according to Sumner County Sheriff Sonny Weatherford.

The church has a typical Sunday attendance of around 30. There hasn’t been any discussion of closing the church, but “the loss of that kind of money causes us to pay closer to our finances and bills,’’ Pastor Ron Wright said.

Dycus was not paid by the church, Wright said.

She has been released from the Sumner County Jail on a $7,500 bond. A court date is scheduled for this Friday.

Convicted bookkeeper gets another year in prison after fake breast cancer claim in Tennessee

FROM KNOWNEWS.COM -

A thieving church bookkeeper who faked breast cancer to avoid reporting to prison has netted more time behind bars for her trickery.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips sentenced Angela Elwood, 48, to another year in a federal prison for her conviction on a charge of obstruction of justice for presenting fake medical records claiming she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and needed treatment.
Elwood served as a bookkeeper for the Jefferson City Christian Church when, in January 2004, she began stealing from the congregation, diverting money from the church's bank accounts to pay her bills and forging signatures on checks to acquire cash. The theft spanned more than two years and totaled more than $218,000, according to court records.
She was eventually indicted on federal bank fraud charges. In March 2009, Phillips sentenced her to spend two years in federal prison. However, he allowed her to remain free while the U.S. Bureau of Prisons processed her paperwork and designated at which federal facility she would be placed.
Beginning in May 2009, Elwood began a scheme to avoid prison, court records state. First, she drafted fake medical records showing she was scheduled for a biopsy and needed to delay reporting to prison to get the results. Phillips agreed, court records state.
As her prison report date neared, she produced bogus medical reports stating she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and needed immediate treatment. Phillips again granted her a delay.
She kept up the ruse until January 2010 when the U.S. Probation Office notified Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Hamilton that the University of Tennessee Medical Center had confirmed that her biopsy was negative for cancer. She was delivered to a federal prison in February 2010.
Elwood's attorney Bryan Delius had urged Phillips to grant Elwood probation in the obstruction case. He argued Hamilton waited until she finished her embezzlement prison term before bringing the obstruction charge. If he hadn't tarried, Delius argued, Elwood could have served the two prison terms

Fleeced priests in Nashville turn to court in pursuit of lost nest eggs

While planning for retirement after 30 years of serving St. Mary Catholic Church in downtown Nashville, the Rev. James Norman Miller entrusted Eric Peterson with his finances. Peterson, who claimed to have experience in business and investments, sounded knowledgeable — and allegedly assured Miller there would be 7.25 percent interest return on his loans.
So Miller, with little background in business or finances, started signing promissory notes to Peterson in 2009. In June 2011, Miller upped his investment with Peterson to more than $200,000 — a sum accumulated after years of frugal living. The notes included a stipulation that Peterson’s promised repayments would transfer to the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky after Miller’s death.
And while Miller received some repayments, including one left under a mat at Miller’s residence, the money eventually stopped coming.
“Father Miller will continue to search for answers, petition for repayment of his assets, and repair the damage resulting from a breach of his trust,” said Miller’s attorney, William Haynes III.
Unfortunately, Miller wasn’t alone. He and a list of other creditors are claiming Peterson owes them millions of dollars. Creditors first filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Peterson and two related entities, Peterson Enterprises and Peterson Insurance, in August 2012.
The circumstances were almost all the same: Peterson convinced individuals to make investments or loans — with the promise of repayment with interest. Most of the repayments weren’t made.
And Miller wasn’t the only clergyman involved in the filing.
The Rev. Sidney Maddox also invested money with Peterson. In that case, Peterson served as a financial officer for Maddox’s church and gained his trust. Peterson told Maddox that he had clients who were worth in excess of $40 million, according to court filings.
Maddox invested $341,000 with Peterson, but repayments halted. Maddox, who was once president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, died at the age of 96 in November — less than a week after a claim was filed on his behalf in the bankruptcy case.
A lawsuit filed in Davidson County Chancery Court last spring sheds some light on Peterson’s financial history. Peterson’s father, Howard, owned the Peterson Machinery Co. When Howard Peterson died in 1992, he disbursed his portion of an entity called Seventh Avenue Properties to his sons, including Eric Peterson, who already had smaller stakes in the partnership.
SAP owned a parcel of land at 309 Seventh Ave. S. in downtown Nashville. The United Methodist Publishing House bought that land in 1998 for $1.28 million — adding an influx of cash into the SAP partnership. (The parcel is now part of the Music City Center.)
But Peterson’s partners in the SAP, including his brothers Trent and Tevin, sued him earlier this year, claiming they haven’t seen any of the money from that land sale — or funds from other properties owned by SAP in Green Hills and Destin, Fla.
The first sign that something was wrong came in April 2012 when Peterson called his brother Trent — who he allegedly hadn’t communicated with in two years — and requested $20,000 urgently. Peterson said he needed the money to pay off taxes on the Destin property, according to the lawsuit.
Peterson told his brothers that he had been sick for the past two years and that his life was in shambles, the suit claims. He claimed a client had “taken him to the cleaners” — and he was awaiting a $250,000 payment.
But Trent Peterson claims Eric Peterson told him in a conversation earlier in the year that everything was going well. His brothers claim Peterson has withheld information about SAP’s financial status.
The suit asks the court to oust Peterson from the partnership — and for him to pay back all the money he transferred out of SAP. The case has since been closed pending Peterson’s hefty bankruptcy case.
Overall, Peterson’s bankruptcy cases contain more than a dozen creditors, including the two clergymen, claiming more than $6 million. Separate filings ask the bankruptcy court not to discharge the debts due to fraud, embezzlement and larceny.
Peterson declined to comment when contacted through his legal counsel, Charles Pickrell.
A meeting of Peterson’s creditors is set for Jan. 28.

Woman seeks reduced bond in Johnson City, Tennessee church theft case

A Bristol woman serving an eight-year prison sentence on a conviction of stealing more than $400,000 from a business where she worked in Shelby County asked a judge Monday to reduce her bond on a similar charge in Washington County.
Jessica Tramel, 34, is charged with theft over $60,000 for allegedly taking over $200,000 from Unaka Avenue Baptist Church, where she worked as a secretary. The job included handling financial transactions.
Tramel is accused of using a church credit card illegally between Jan. 1, 2009, and May 1, 2011. She came to possess the card after the former church treasurer, Russell Stover, gave it to her. She was supposed to have his name removed from the account and destroy the card.
Instead, according to court documents, Tramel is accused of using the card to make numerous purchases over the Internet from companies such as Amazon, Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy.
The card was also used locally to purchase manicures and spa services.
Currently Tramel is serving a sentence from the Shelby County conviction in the Johnson City Jail. On Monday, she told a judge that it will expire Oct. 18, which would allow her to post bond on the charge she faces here. According to court records, Tramel’s bond is $150,000.
The hearing Monday was to ask Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood to reduce that amount to $25,000. Tramel testified she hopes to get out of jail while her case is pending to spend time with her husband and children.
Tramel’s attorney, Brad Sproles, based his argument for her release on her family ties to the community — her parents, husband and children live in Bristol — and an odd circumstance in her prior case that he says shows she can be trusted.
In that case, Tramel was denied probation and ordered to serve the sentence at a February 2004 hearing in Shelby County. Tramel was hired as an office worker for a jewelry store, but quickly became a trusted employee and began handling the owners’ personal and business finances.
That led to Tramel — then known as Jessica Trotter-Lawson — to begin stealing money from the store. Over a two-year period, Tramel took nearly $500,000 from the business, according to court records.
After being ordered to serve the full sentence, Tramel appealed and the Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the sentence and ruled Tramel should serve one year in prison and the rest of the sentence on probation.
That decision came one year after Tramel’s sentence began, so she was released.
But 16 months later, the state Supreme Court reversed the CCA’s decision and ordered Tramel back to prison. She had 11 days to report to jail in Memphis.
Part of Sproles’ argument for his client’s trustworthiness is that fact that she did report back to jail as ordered. Another thing in her favor, Sproles told the judge, is her ability to work with minimal supervision in the community.
The Johnson City Jail is a “work camp” for state female inmates and everyone housed there has a job on city property. Tramel testified she works at the city golf course doing lawn maintenance and trash pick-up.
It’s allowed her to halve her sentence. The inmates earn an extra day for each day they work.
When Tramel was arrested for the theft from the church here, she was on parole from the previous conviction. Officials revoked her parole because of the new charge.
Both Sproles and Assistant District Attorney General Ken Baldwin indicated the case will likely be resolved with a plea.
Instead of ruling on the bond reduction Monday, Blackwood reset the case for Oct. 11. He said if the case isn’t resolved by a plea by then, he would consider the motion to reduce bond.
Baldwin opposed any reduction in Tramel’s bond.


Read more: http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=102671#ixzz28tsPPKvb

Ex-church secretary gets 44-month prison term for embezzlement in Tennessee

FROM KNOXNEWS.COM  -

A 70-year-old woman who bilked $1.5 million from the Morristown church where she worked for nearly five decades received both punishment and absolution on Thursday.




Senior U.S. District Judge Leon Jordan sentenced Barbara D. Whitt to 44 months in prison for a years-long scheme to defraud First Baptist Church of Morristown, where she worked as financial secretary.



But the church offered Whitt forgiveness.



"Barbara, First Baptist Church loves you, and we have no anger or bitterness toward you," Senior Pastor Dean Haun told Whitt at Thursday's sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in Greeneville. "Barbara, may the Lord bless you."



Whitt served for 47 years as the financial secretary for First Baptist Church, which has a congregation of about 2,500. She and her son, Michael Dean Whitt, 44, were indicted in November 2010. Records show Barbara Whitt robbed church coffers for three years by lying to church officials to get their signatures on 1,650 checks on which she later added her own name as payee.



Michael Whitt deposited money embezzled from the church into prepaid cards and took other steps to avoid currency transaction reports. He faces sentencing later this year.



Defense attorney Tommy Hindman argued that Barbara Whitt was herself a victim of her son and only child.



"Ms. Whitt had been told by her son that he needed money to pay off the Internal Revenue Service as well as other outstanding checks he alleged were from his legitimate business," Hindman wrote in a sentencing memorandum. "Mr. Whitt convinced his mother that unless she came up with money, he would go to jail and she would never see him again."



Instead, Hindman said, Michael Whitt used the purloined cash to buy cars, a boat and drugs.



Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Smith countered that Barbara Whitt "kept the books" for her son's business and "would have had full knowledge of her son's business" affairs.



The courtroom was packed with members of not only First Baptist Church but Grace Baptist Church, where Whitt was a member for nearly six decades.



"I am so sorry, and I just ask their forgiveness," Whitt told Jordan before turning toward church members. "Please, forgive me."Jordan declined to sentence Whitt to the minimum 41-month prison term but still cut her a slight break from the maximum.



"You're fortunate to have that much support, that much love and that much forgiveness," he said. "You have betrayed all of them We must send a message to the public."

Tennessee Church Secretary Charged with embezzling more than $200,000 from church

A Bristol woman was charged Thursday with embezzling more than $200,000 from a Johnson City church as the church’s secretary.
Jessica Lynn Tramel, 32, 916 Weaver Pike, Bristol, was charged with 150 counts of forgery, theft of property over $60,000 and identity theft.
Police said in a news release Tramel’s arrest resulted from an investigation into an embezzlement report filed by the Unaka Avenue Baptist Church staff stating that funds were missing from the church bank account. An audit indicated that $229,265 was missing.
According to the police report, the embezzlement occurred during the past three years.
Police said the investigation revealed Tramel, who was employed as the church secretary and whose duties included handling financial records, diverted funds from the checking account by forging checks and making them payable to her.
According to a police report on the embezzlement, Tramel had arranged through the bank to be authorized to transfer funds from the church’s line of credit with the bank to cover the missing checking account funds.
The church staff also told police in the report that the church credit card was nearly maxed out with illicit purchases.
Tramel was terminated from her position with the church prior to her arrest. She reportedly told church staff she used the money for gas and groceries.
Tramel was jailed in the Washington County Detention Center on $210,000 bond pending a Sessions Court hearing Monday.

Morristown, Tennessee woman, son to plead church embezzlement

A Morristown woman and her son have admitted to embezzling a large church out of $1.5 million between July 2007 and April 2010, according to court records.




Barbara D. Whitt, 68, and Michael Dean Whitt, 42, have signed plea agreements that were filed last week.



They are scheduled to be in U.S. District Court in Greeneville on Friday to verbally enter the pleas and learn the date for a sentencing hearing.



The mother pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering.



Her son pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to launder money.



Barbara Whitt served for 47 years as the financial secretary for First Baptist Church, which has a congregation of about 2,500. She and her son were indicted in November in a scheme in which money was taken out of the church's general fund account at a SunTrust Bank branch in Morristown.



According to court documents, Barbara Whitt lied to church officials about the reason for 1,650 checks drawn on the church's bank account in order to garner signatory approval. The checks signed by church officials listed the payee as "cash" for various expenses and fund transfers, but Whitt later added her own name as payee.



Michael Whitt deposited money embezzled from the church into pre-paid cards and took other steps to avoid currency transaction reports.

Tennessee Church secretary accused of embezzling $1.5 million

A Southern Baptist church in East Tennessee is considering cutting back on ministries amid reports that a trusted employee of 47 years embezzled more than $1.5 million in church funds.

Police arrested Barbara Whitt, 68, longtime financial secretary at First Baptist Church in Morristown, Tenn., May 10 after a church audit found nearly $500,000 in funds were missing. She is out of jail on $175,000 bond.
By May 26 local media were reporting that the amount of money stolen could be $1.5 million, making it the biggest theft in the history of Hamblen County.
"We're not going to stop the programs entirely," First Baptist Pastor Dean Haun told the Knoxville News-Sentinel. "But we might have to tap on the brakes."
Haun, who came as pastor of the 1,800-member congregation in 2008 from First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Ga., said the greatest thing Whitt stole was their trust. Though not a church member -- she belongs to nearby Grace Baptist Church, also a Southern Baptist congregation -- Haun said members of First Baptist viewed her as family and would have helped her if she had a need.
Whitt, a widow, is accused of writing 1,647 checks to herself between January 2008 and mid-April of this year. Investigators say that each of the checks was larger than $900 and totaled an average of more than $50,000 each month.
Taken from an account that funds things like scholarships and ministries, the checks would allegedly start in the church's accounting program made out to "cash." Whitt would then get one of the church's authorized officials to sign the check, add "Barbara Whitt" on a typewriter and then cash it during her lunch hour at a Police said they don't know the motive for the alleged thefts. Neighbors said they had noticed her making a lot of large purchases recently and thought she might have won the lottery.
Whitt is scheduled to face a grand jury July 2. If convicted she could be sentenced from eight to 12 years in prison.
First Baptist Church reportedly filed a civil lawsuit against Whitt to try to stop her from selling any of her property. Grace Baptist Church also has filed a civil lawsuit against Whitt and her son, Michael, who owns a business called Whittco Electric Company housed at her home.