Calhoun County Church and Catholic School Bookkeeper Accused of Embezzlement in Alabama

According to Information in a news release issued this week by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Birmingham – the bookkeeper for a Calhoun County church and Catholic school is facing up to 20 years in federal prison – and a quarter-of-a-million dollar fine – after being accused of embezzlement.

Angela Cheatwood, age 41, has been charged with wire fraud after she allegedly took nearly $450,000, including stealing from school fundraisers and donations,

She is the bookkeeper for Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church and Sacred Heart School in Anniston.

Prosecutors claim Cheatwood wrote unauthorized checks to her personal account from the church’s bank account and stole cash from school fundraisers and donations meant for the school and deposited that money into her bank account.

The U.S. Secret Service assisted the Birmingham U.S. Attorney’s Office on the case.

The statement did not list a court date.

Bookkeeper accused of taking almost $270,000 from church

A former Gadsden church bookkeeper/treasurer/pianist was arrested Wednesday, accused of stealing almost $270,000 from a small church during her tenure there.

Deborah K. Coker, 60, was charged with one count of first-degree theft by deception, Gadsden Detective Clark Thompson said. She has been released on $5,000 bond.

Thompson said police investigated the theft of money during at 10-year period at the McCauley’s Chapel Methodist Church on Tabor Road.

The theft came to light after the church’s pastor, Curtis Scott, returned from a furlough and noticed some accounts had been seriously depleted.

“As a pastor, I don’t handle any money,” Scott said. “My job is to preach the gospel, and grow disciples.”

There were others at the church who should have received bank statements, he said — the chief of trustees, the board of administrators and the secretary — but the bookkeeper had stopped that, and no one said anything.

At business meetings, Scott said, “they were shown spreadsheets that showed what she wanted us to see.”

“All the bills were being paid,” for the church, Thompson said, so no one had any reason to suspect anything was wrong.

But they found evidence that Coker had been paying personal bills out of church accounts, Thompson said, including payments to a mortgage company, Alabama Power, Verizon, Lowe’s, Sears, Belk, J.C. Penney and many others.

Scott said he started looking at bank accounts and had an audit done that uncovered the scope of the theft.

The woman received a salary from the church, Thompson explained, but she’d been paying herself multiple times a month.

The pastor said when he confronted her about the theft, she admitted it.

“We were just sad and shocked,” Scott said. She had been at the church a long time, he said, “Longer than I’ve been here.

“We thought it was our responsibility to the community and our obligation to our faith to turn it over to the authorities,” he said.

Scott said he believes there’s a message McCauley’s Chapel can share with other churches: trust but verify.

That’s part of why he chose to speak about the theft. The woman arrested, he said, is a very talented pianist, and he could see something like this happening at another church as well.

Thompson said churches need to have some checks and balances when it comes to money. The business of the church needs to be handled like a business.

“Your treasurer and your bookkeeper should never be the same person,” he said. “Be aware that this kind of thing can and does happen.”

Sgt. John Hallman said no one else was involved in the theft at McCauley Chapel.

He said he’s concerned that some churches or businesses, if they see evidence of embezzlement, may just sweep it under the rug.

“They may worry about their reputation and never bring charges,” he said. “I think anytime you are a victim of something like this, you need to notify authorities.”

Scott said automatic payments had been set up for a mortgage and other bills, coming out of church accounts.

He said a couple of loans had been taken out to put money back into church accounts, but the payments on the loans were being made out of church accounts, too.

McCauley’s Chapel is a small church, Scott said.

“A little smaller, after this,” he said. “It’s affected us a little bit. I think we’ll be fine.

“It’s brought us together a little, too. We’re definitely going to be little more careful,” Scott said.

Former Ashford Academy headmaster who pled guilty to embezzlement receives probation

A Houston County Judge granted former Ashford Academy headmaster probation, Tuesday morning.

Judge Michael Conway originally sentenced Douglas Bauer to 48 months in the state penitentiary, but suspended that sentence and agreed to grant Bauer probation.

Conway agreed to give Bauer five years probation time with multiple guidelines, including that Ashford Academy board members do not oppose probation, and that the proceeds of Bauer’s home sale be applied to his restitution.

The defense and the state agreed that, to the best of their knowledge, the board members were not opposed to probation.

Bauer’s probation case will be transferred to Texas. Currently, Bauer is employed in Texas. Conway also added in the request for probation that Bauer participate in anti-theft classes if available.

Bauer pled guilty on March 5 to 25 felony charges, including theft of property and possession of forged instruments.

Police believe Bauer made illicit financial transactions related to the school totaling more than $37,000. Bauer admitted to stealing those funds while in charge of the private school.

Each month the board members of Ashford Academy would meet and write personal checks of about $600 each for the school’s debt. Bauer was to use the money collected to pay the school’s bills.

Board members became suspicious when they starting receiving delinquent notices for bills associated with the school

Former Ashford Academy headmaster surrenders on embezzlement charges

The former headmaster of Ashford Academy sought for embezzling about $37,000 from the school surrendered to authorities just before lunch Friday.

A Houston County Jail spokesperson confirmed Douglas John Bauer turned himself in about 11:00 a.m. and is awaiting processing.

Bauer is charged with nine counts of possession of a forged instrument 3rd degree, 3 counts of theft of property 2nd degree, 6 counts theft of property 3rd degree, and 8 counts Theft of Property 4th degree.

Bauer spent about two years at the school that closed in May, 2015 due to financial problems.

He was apparently out of state when the charges were filed.

Bauer will likely be released on bond later Friday. 

Former church secretary indicted for theft

A longtime administrative assistant at a Southern Baptist church in Alabama is accused of using a church credit card to make unauthorized personal purchases totaling more than $129,000 in a grand jury indictment alleging theft and fraud.

Deborah “Debbie” Mansell, 63, was arrested July 16. Mansell, until recently ministry assistant to the administration pastor at Highland Park Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, Ala., faces charges of first-degree theft of property and 20 counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.

According to the Times Daily newspaper in Florence, Ala., an investigation was launched after an internal audit found discrepancies in financial records among more than 2,200 transactions that Mansell made from July 2011 until April 2014. Police said the investigation goes back only to 2011 due to a statute of limitations.

According to a web page archived last November, Mansell has been a member of Highland Park Baptist Church for 46 years and worked at the church for 23 years. She was described as a widow and mother of two with three grandchildren who “loves the Lord, HPBC and music.”

Highland Park lead pastor Brett Pitman told the Times Daily the church is “wounded and hurt” by Mansell’s alleged actions.

It’s the second time this year that a former staff member at Highland Park was charged with a serious crime. Jeff Eddie, the church’s long-time associate pastor for children and church administration, was arrested in February on multiple charges of child sex abuse.

Eddie, 42, who started work at Highland Baptist Church in 1998, reportedly told police during his initial questioning that he sexually abused so many children that he could not remember the number.

Eddie pleaded guilty in March to 20 counts of child sexual abuse and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Former high school dance coach charged with embezzlement in Michigan

 A former high school dance coach is accused of trying to sidestep the law when collecting money from her team.

Patricia Lee Daraban, 22, of Flat Rock was arraigned Jan. 22 on an embezzlement charge before 33rd District Judge Jennifer Coleman Hesson.

The charge is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

A preliminary examination of the evidence against her is set for Feb. 25.

According to police, Daraban is accused of embezzling more than $21,000 of school funds in the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District.

Police said Daraban had checks in her possession that she tried to manipulate and use for her own benefit.

According to Deputy Police Chief Robert Matthews, police confronted Daraban with the allegations Aug 26, 2013.

Matthews said the next day Daraban attempted to make full restitution.

By that time an investigation already was underway and there was evidence that a crime may have been committed.

The evidence was presented to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, which brought forth the charge.

The district, along with the Brownstown Township Police Department, began investigating accounts under Daraban’s supervision back in August.

According to Mark Greathead, school superintendent, district officials became aware of alleged illegal activity in connection with the dance team when vendors began calling and questioning unpaid bills.

The superintendent said the dance coach was hired through a third-party contractor.

That company was contacted and told her services were no longer wanted at the school, according to district officials.

During that same time frame, Zac Stevenson, the district’s athletic director, resigned.

Greathead said Stevenson is not suspected of any wrongdoing and his resignation was a mutual agreement.

Stevenson was responsible for athletic department activity at that time. The dance team is under the auspices of the athletic department.

A trip to Orlando in January 2013 involving a dance competition and an overnight dance camp in July of 2013 are among the events under investigation, according to Greathead.

“It’s difficult to say (exactly) how much money we are talking about,” Greathead said. “We are trying to get to the bottom of it.”

There are 10 girls on the dance team. Each, according to district officials, gave Duraban money to participate in the dance competition, as well as the camp.

The girls also were involved in several fundraisers and that money was turned in to the dance coach.

“She had been with the district for about four years,” Greathead said. “There were a few parents who questioned where fundraiser money was going, but other than that there were no complaints about her.”

The superintendent said parents questioning fundraising money is not all that unusual.

A new dance sponsor has taken over the team.

“She has stepped up for the girls and they have been quite successful,” Greathead said. “They closed the season out last week as state champs in division two in varsity pom. Their hip-hop routine took third place in the state. They are a very talented group of girls.”

Jim Kalisz, who was the district’s previous athletic director, has taken over those responsibilities on an interim basis.

Greathead said the district is in the process of setting up interviews for hiring a permanent athletic director. A total of 64 candidates applied for the job.

“I’m impressed with the number of applicants, as well as the variety of experience they have,” Greathead said. “There are a lot of quality candidates.”

Former Kingwood Christian School manager gets probation in embezzlement in Alabama

A Shelby County judge this morning sentenced a Bessemer woman to a suspended jail term and placed her on probation for a charge accusing her of embezzling more than $63,000 from Kingwood Christian School in Alabaster.

Stacie S. Hollon, 43, pleaded guilty to the charge of first-degree theft of property during her appearance in Shelby County Circuit Court in Columbiana. Judge Dan Reeves sentenced her to three years of jail, but suspended the sentence and placed her on five years of probation.

Hollon also must pay $1,000 a month restitution to Kingwood Christian School for 36 months.

A grand jury indicted Hollon in January on a charge each of first-degree receiving stolen property and first-degree theft of property.

Hollon, formerly of Helena, was a financial manager at the school. Embezzlement charges arose after she was arrested for driving under the influence and receiving stolen property on May 31, 2011.

Her arrest warrant filed in court revealed that she had a bank bag belonging to Kingwood Christian School that contained $186 in cash and almost $3,450 in checks at the time. Court documents also stated that she took $63,452 belonging to Kingwood Christian School between Sept. 15, 2008, and May 31, 2011.

The theft of property charge to which she pleaded guilty this morning accused her of obtaining cash, checks, credit cards charges and ATM withdrawals totaling $63,452 from Kingwood Christian School between 2008 and 2011, according to the indictment.

Defense attorney John Medaris of Pelham told Reeves this morning that she diverted money belonging to the school "for her personal use."

The other charge in the indictment accused her of intentionally receiving $4,627 belonging to the school, according to the indictment. The charge claimed that she took the money "knowing that it was stolen or having reasonable grounds to believe it had been stolen and not having the intent to restore it to its owner."

The school, under Kingwood Assembly of God Inc., filed a lawsuit March 13 along with Cincinnati Insurance Company against Hollon and other unnamed individuals connected to theft from the institution. The case in Shelby County has a Nov. 25 non-jury trial date scheduled.

The church claims a loss of at least $117,032 due to the actions of Hollon and any others who may have participated in the theft, according to the lawsuit, which claims the embezzlement happened as early as June 2005.

Woman convicted on all counts for stealing $55,000 from small Mobile, Alabama church

 Beneath all the receipts, bank statements and other paperwork, it was very simple: Evelyn Mace “duped” the members of First Independent Methodist Church to the tune of about $55,000, and a jury of her peers convicted her of it.

Such was the opinion of Assistant District Attorney Martha Tierney after a jury convicted Mace, 61, on five counts related to funds she stole from the Halls Mill Road church between 2009 and 2011. The verdict came down Friday in Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Robert Smith’s courtroom.

Mace was convicted of two different counts of theft – first-degree theft and first-degree theft by deception – as well as three counts of felony tax evasion. In other words, not only did she steal, both outright and through “larceny by trick,” she also neglected to claim her “ill-gotten gains” on her taxes, Tierney said. And she did it to a church family who, at times, remembered her fondly.

“It’s unfortunate when something like this happens,” Tierney said. “It was a betrayal of her church, it was a betrayal of her friends, it was a betrayal of the trust.”

Mace, a Realtor associated with Prudential Cooper & Co. Inc., was hired at First Independent as a bookkeeper, and during the three years included in the indictment, used the $55,000 she stole in numerous ways, including for her personal utility bills and to feed a gambling problem that found her at Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos, according to testimony.

“Her trick was to get (church leaders) to sign checks in blank, clipped to an invoice, payable to herself or to petty cash,” Tierney said. “The elders were so trusting.

“Internal control is not the first thing in the minds of church people for whom love and trust are most predominant.”

Sharee Kinard, who took over the books on a volunteer basis after Mace was fired by the church, wept on the witness stand during the trial, describing her family and Mace’s as friends who spent time together on Wednesday nights at the small church, which had a total congregation of only a couple hundred people. Around 40 people could be expected at the church for any given service, according to testimony.

“She was very special,” Kinard said. “I loved her like a sister in Christ for sure.”

For Tierney, the challenge in white-collar cases is always in finding a way to present expansive financial records to the jurors in a way that’s simple and direct. And to that end she had high praise for Agent Randy Day, with the State Revenue Department.

“He is one of the best forensic accountants I have ever worked with,” Tierney said. “He happily, eagerly and dedicatedly followed thousands of records to organize and categorize the five different schemes (Mace) used to take money.”

The two counts of theft carry sentences of five years in prison each, with each count of tax evasion carrying the possibility of two-to-twenty years, according to Tierney. A restitution hearing will be held within 30 days to determine how much Mace will be required to pay back to the church, Tierney said.

At some point during the schemes, Mace put some of her own money back into the church’s accounts, she said, and the restitution amount will likely affect the final amount. It could be less than the $55,000 stolen, Tierney said.

After the jury rendered its verdict, defense attorney Joe Dennis filed an oral notice of appeal. An appeal date has not been set, and citing such Dennis said he could not comment specifically on the details of the case. He wasn’t sure whether or not he would be representing Mace on appeal.

Dennis did, however, share a compliment for his opponent across the courtroom aisle.

“We’ve got the finest DA’s office and the finest law enforcement and they put on a great case,” he said.

Embezzlement not uncommon, but proactive steps can help prevent

FROM THE ALABAMABAPTIST.ORG -

After pleading guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from Columbia Baptist Association, Tonya Renee Woodward said “the devil made her do it,” according to Houston County District Attorney Doug Valeska.

Woodward, the association’s former financial secretary, was arrested in October 2012 and pleaded guilty Aug. 28 to 10 felony second-degree theft charges, then later was served with a four-count felony indictment alleging she stole more than $130,000 from Columbia Association.

She faces sentencing Oct. 16, according to Associated Baptist Press.

Actions like Woodward’s are not uncommon in religious life, according to Ministry Protection, a department of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. Almost every other week, a church of some denomination has funds embezzled from it.

How does something like this happen?

One factor seems to be consistent, according to Ministry Protection — the person who embezzled was someone the church trusted.

Lee Wright, coordinator of church compensation services for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said churches can take proactive steps to reduce their risk of having it happen to them.

One of those steps is to use the “fraud triangle” to identify potential areas of concern, he said. The fraud triangle addresses three characteristics of potential embezzlers — pressure, rationalization and opportunity.

Pressure involves “a person consistently living well above their means or a person suddenly hit with large, unexpected bills,” Wright said.

This scenario can lead to rationalization — “most embezzlers intend to pay the money back and consider it borrowing,” he said.

Opportunity completes the triangle if there is a lack of internal controls and supervision in place, Wright said.

“The key is proper separation of duties — good internal controls,” he said.

Having two or more people involved in financial processes “will greatly reduce the possibility” of embezzlement, Wright said. “Having a different person from the check writer open and reconcile the bank statement each month is one key step that would practically eliminate embezzlement.”

And having two signers on each check — neither of them the financial secretary — can also keep one person from having too much control over the funds, according to Ministry Protection.

Two unrelated people also should be the ones to receive the offerings, Ministry Protection said, and rotating money counters and tellers can put yet another safeguard in place.

Another way to have more eyes on the church’s financial activity is to keep as few bank accounts as possible, Wright said. “The general fund is usually examined closely, but other accounts may not be. Having separate bank accounts such as youth ministry, music ministry, senior adult ministry, etc., can be a dangerous practice.”

Before anyone is allowed to handle the church’s finances, he or she should be screened with a background check, Wright said. “Churches should bond those who handle money or checks or have the insurance for this purpose through their property and casualty policy.”

Several other measures could be taken so that the financial records of the church are kept public, according to Ministry Protection:

The church should appoint a committee to conduct a yearly financial review. If problems are found, the committee should consult an outside auditor to help complete the review.

Receipts and expenditures should be disclosed to the church each year.

Permanent records of all bookkeeping should be kept at the church. If the church treasurer receives any church income, he or she should record it in a ledger stored publicly. The treasurer should also never take the money home with him or her to deposit.

Woman admits to embezzling church funds in Alabama

The former financial secretary at an Alabama Baptist association pleaded guilty Aug. 28 to stealing from her employer and was then arrested on additional charges claiming she took even more.

Tonya Renee Woodward, 52, of Dothan, Ala., entered what's referred to as a blind guilty plea, which means there was no agreement for sentencing. She pleaded guilty in Houston County Circuit Court to 10 felony second-degree theft charges filed against her.

Hours later deputies served a four-count felony indictment charging Woodward with multiple first-degree theft offenses alleging she stole over $130,000 from the Columbia Baptist Association over a four-year period.

Attorney Matt Lamere told the Dothan Eagle his client was unaware of the additional charges when she entered the guilty plea. “I’m a little bit disappointed I wasn’t informed about the indictments,” Lamere said.

Dothan police arrested Woodward Oct. 8, 2012, on charges alleging that she stole $8,061.75 over a four-month period from the 53-church association with an annual budget of just under $350,000. She faces sentencing Oct. 16 and could serve from one to 10 years in prison on each of the 10 Class C felony crimes of second-degree theft of property.

In a report to Columbia Baptist Association last fall, administrative team chairman Allen Singley told messengers that the association’s director of missions found money missing and by her own admission it was determined that the financial secretary took the funds.

Director of Missions Jerry Grandstaff said in his report that “he has never been more disappointed, more taken advantage of, more hurt, more grieved and more embarrassed” than he had been in the previous two weeks, according to minutes from the Columbia Baptist Association annual fall meeting Oct. 15 at Selma Baptist Church.

Houston County District Attorney Doug Valeska told the Dothan newspaper that in her statement to police, Woodward said “the devil made her do it.”

Birmingham schools employees charged in theft of more than $400,000 in auto parts in Alabama

Three Birmingham Board of Education employees are among four people charged in an elaborate scheme that authorities said led to the theft of more than $400,000 in auto parts.

The investigation began in September 2012 when the State Board of Education Intervention Team notified the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office of serious financial discrepancies in Birmingham's BOE Transportation Division. District Attorney Brandon Falls said they passed on that information to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, and together they immediately launched a joint probe.

The discovery came while The Birmingham Board of Education was under state intervention for finances and board governance. The probe into the system's finances is still ongoing.

Sheriff's Chief Deputy Randy Christian said investigators learned that three men, all employees of the Birmingham Board of Education Transportation Division, were working with an employee of an area parts supplier to create fake invoices indicating the purchase of parts for school bus maintenance. The parts were actually for vehicle models such as Kia, Mercedes, Lexus and Harley-Davidson.

The parts were then taken to private mechanic businesses owned by the men. The Birmingham Board of Education does not have any of these vehicles in their fleet.

During the investigation a search warrant was executed at a mechanics shop owned by one of the suspects, Christian said. A Harley-Davidson Motorcycle and a Mercedes automobile were seized as evidence. The value of the stolen parts, which Christian said were taken over a three-year period, is more than $400,000.

The school employees charged are: Maury Willis Pettway, 50; Marcellous Blackmon, 52; Rodney Everson, 47; all of Birmingham. All three are charged with first-degree theft and use of public position for personal gain.

All three remain at large. Pettway's bond is set at $60,000. Bonds for Blackmon and Everson are set at $40,000.

Also charged in the scheme is 40-year-old Kimberly Watson, an auto parts supplier employee. Watson's bond is set at $40,000. Christian said all four are expected to surrender to sheriff's officials.

Birmingham schools spokeswoman Michaelle Chapman said all three school employees have been placed on administrative leave.

"This was quite a scam this group had going and I am happy to report that this investigation has put a stop to it,'' said Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale. "This bunch is no better than someone that would steal from a child, which in the grand scheme is exactly what they were doing. I am very appreciative of the District Attorney's office bringing this to the forefront.

Former Alabama school financial officer pleads guilty to embezzlement

Authorities say a former financial officer of the Ozark City Board of Education has been sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty to misusing public funds.

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange announced Monday that 53-year-old Monica Baker Foote will be placed in the Dale County Community Corrections Program.
Foote was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of intentionally using her official position for unlawful personal gain of money and one count of first-degree theft of property from the Ozark City School Board in money or checks valued at more than $2,500.
An audit found that Foote had embezzled about $97,000 from the school board.
She was ordered to pay more than $102,000 in restitution to the Ozark City Board of Education.

Former Bevill State Community College cashier agrees to plead guilty to embezzlement in Alabama

A former Bevill State Community College cashier and business office manager has agreed to plead guilty to embezzling $20,000 from the school, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Birmingham announced Friday. Janet Adams Bobo, 55, on Friday was charged with taking the money between May 2007 and May 2008 and agreed to plead guilty. The plea agreement states Bobo began taking money from a cash drawer several years earlier, according to a statement from Peggy Sanford, spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance. An audit by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts for the period Oct. 1, 2004 through May 23, 2008, uncovered the embezzlement, the statement read. The audit revealed Bobo had embezzled $113,763 from the college. She has repaid that amount, according to Sanford's statement.
"Mrs. Bobo has confessed to the embezzlements that extended over a period of years and has entered into an agreement with the United States to plead guilty to the information," Vance said in the press release. The maximum penalty for the embezzlement charge is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.