Salina, Kansas Church Employee Arrested for Embezzlement

An administrative assistant at a Salina church is arrested, accused of embezzling more than $68,000 in church funds.

According to our news partners at The Salina Journal, police say the woman was an employee of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Salina. They say she'd been diverting the money for personal use since 2006.
Investigators say the church discovered the shortages during an internal audit of church accounts while the woman was on an extended leave.
The woman was arrested, and is expected to be charged with felony theft, false writing and computer crimes.

A former administrative assistant at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of felony theft and one count of computer crime. Saline County Attorney Ellen Mitchell said Sherri L. Seiler, 40, had generated 81 unauthorized checks since 2006 to compensate herself above her agreed-upon salary and to give herself additional retirement and medical benefits for a total loss to the church of more than $68,200. Her sentencing is set for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 30

CONVICTED PASTOR IN MIAMI, FLORIDA DODGES MEDIA

Joyful music echoed from the sanctuary at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, but Pastor Gaston Smith did not want to talk to the media.
Sunday morning, Smith clearly avoided cameras, sneaking into the church without offering any comments on his recent conviction.
Smith was found guilty of grand theft on December 11, 2009 for taking $10,000 from his nonprofit group.
His supporters at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church filled the building Sunday morning. Despite his conviction, they plan to stand by their pastor.
Tyrone Lamar told Local 10, "I support my pastor 100 percent. He made some mistakes but he is a good man. I am really hurt."
For now, it appears that Smith will continue as pastor of his church.
There are no laws requiring those convicted of grand theft to step down from their position.
He will return to court in February for sentencing. He could face up to 5 years behind bars.

PULASKI, VIRGINIA CHURCH EMPLOYEE PLEADS GUILTY TO EMBEZZLEMENT

A former employee of the Pulaski County commissioner of the revenue's office who took more than $167,000 from her church pleaded guilty to five embezzlement charges on Wednesday, December 9, 2009.
Patricia Wilson, 57, of Draper was charged in April with two counts of embezzlement. A grand jury that met in July added seven other charges dating from 2006 to early this year.

According to evidence summarized at a hearing Wednesday in Pulaski County Circuit Court, an investigation began after the electricity at Memorial Christian Church in Draper was turned off in March.

The pastor and another church member approached Wilson, who had been in charge of church funds for nine years.
Wilson admitted that she took money from the church without authorization but told the pair that she had hoped to be able to pay it off within six months, prosecutor Peggy Frank said Wednesday.

The church members told the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office what had happened on April 17. Wilson was arrested the same day.
Wilson took more than $116,600 from the church's building fund and more than $50,300 from its general fund. She has since repaid about $20,000, Frank said.

Four of the nine charges Wilson faced were dropped in court.

Wilson has not entered into a plea agreement and will remain free on bond until she is sentenced at a hearing in April. She faces up to 20 years in prison on each conviction.

After she was charged, Wilson resigned from her job as deputy commissioner.
The sheriff's office has said an investigation has shown that no funds were taken from the commissioner of the revenue's office.

RANTOUL, KANSAS MAN SENTENCED FOR CHURCH EMBEZZLEMENT

A Rantoul man was sentenced on October 19, 2009 to two years probation and ordered to repay nearly $30,000 in money he stole from a church.


Fifty-eight-year-old Edward Fisher was church treasurer at the
Rantoul Presbyterian Church between Jan. 1, 1997, and Oct. 5, 2008
when he stole the money.
Fisher pleaded no contest in September to felony theft charges
and was sentenced Monday in Franklin County District Court.
Rantoul is about 15 miles southeast of Ottawa.

GREENCASTLE, INDIANA WOMAN RECEIVES MAXIMUM SENTENCE

A Greencastle woman accused of stealing over $350,000 from the church where she worked as a financial and administrative secretary was given the maximum executed sentence allowed by Indiana statute November 21, 2009.


Melynda J. "Mindy" Fenwick, 37, was convicted of six counts of Class C felony forgery and six counts of Class D felony theft. At her sentencing hearing Monday, Putnam County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley ordered Fenwick to serve 10 years at the Indiana Department of Correction followed by five years on probation.
Fenwick was arrested Aug. 11 after discrepancies surfaced during an audit of the books at Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church, Greencastle. She was initially charged with six counts of Class C felony forgery and five counts of Class D felony theft. A sixth Class D felony theft count was filed on Oct. 9.
At an initial hearing on Aug. 13, Fenwick pled not guilty to all charges. She changed her plea on Oct. 29, pleading guilty to all counts.

Under Indiana statute, the maximum sentence for non-violent crimes alleged under the same case number is the advisory sentence for the next highest felony charge -- in this case a Class B felony, for which the maximum sentence is 20 years and the advisory sentence is 10 years.
Fenwick wrote 192 checks to herself -- totaling $335,000 -- from Gobin's accounts. In addition, she made about $21,000 in unauthorized charges on the church's credit cards.
Fenwick confessed to forging signatures on the checks and to doctoring bank receipts to cover it up.
Court records indicated that Fenwick began stealing from Gobin shortly after she was hired in late 2004.
"Mrs. Fenwick, your actions have caused so much grief for so many people," Headley said. "But anyone who goes to church knows that forgiveness is a cornerstone theme of the church. Hopefully you'll be able to be forgiven someday ... but right now, you must be punished."
Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter recommended Fenwick be given the maximum sentence allowable.
"If not today, when?" he asked. "If not here, where? If not Mindy Fenwick, who?"
Fenwick's attorney James Ensley asked for leniency for his client, pointing out that she had no prior criminal history and had pled guilty to all counts without the benefit of any plea agreements.
"She fell on the sword in this case," Ensley said.
With Indiana good time credit, which allows one day's credit for every day an inmate serves without incident, Fenwick will likely be released from prison in five years. Her sentence could be further decreased if she holds a job in prison or earns educational credits.
Although she has never been prosecuted, Fenwick admitted she had been fired from the two jobs she held before Gobin -- one at a bank and one at a factory -- for stealing.
"I guess the third time you figured you'd get slapped on the wrist again?" Bookwalter said.
"No sir," a tearful Fenwick said. "I didn't know what I thought."
Fenwick said she couldn't say for sure where the money had gone.
"It went different places," she said. "I don't buy extravagant things."
Bookwalter produced records that indicated Fenwick had spent the stolen money on a Wii videogame console, beer, a riding lawnmower, groceries and a desktop computer.
"So, the church was paying for your living costs?" Bookwalter asked.
Fenwick said she often used the money to help other people and to take them out to eat.
"So while the church is dying, you're treating people to dinner?" Bookwalter asked.
"Yes," Fenwick said.
One of the state's witnesses was Vera Farber -- a longtime Putnam County resident and DePauw School of Music graduate who has been involved with Gobin since its beginning in the 1920s.
Farber had donated $60,000 to a fund Gobin had set up to repair its pipe organ -- a fund that was depleted as a result of Fenwick's thefts.
"At first I was so sorry for (Fenwick)," Farber said. "Then I became angry. I worked and saved a long time to have that much money to give."
On the stand at Monday's hearing, Gobin Pastor P.T. Wilson said the news of Fenwick's crimes "sent a shockwave of uncertainty through the church."
Wilson described his relationship with Fenwick as "very warm, very friendly."
Bookwalter asked Wilson what his first thoughts were after Fenwick's thefts were exposed.
"At first, disbelief," Wilson said. "Then a strong sense of betrayal that month after month after month after month she came to these meetings and gave these reports, and everything was fabricated."
Wilson said he had done ministry in women's prisons in the past, and had worked with women who embezzled. In hindsight, he said, he could see some of the same traits in Fenwick he had seen in those women.
"I felt very foolish," he said.
Greencastle Police Department Detective Capt. Randy Seipel said Fenwick's case represented the largest embezzlement loss he had ever dealt with in his 22 years in law enforcement.
"To keep this up for four years; to keep the numbers flowing; to keep the confidence in her from the church built up ... that made what she did quite sophisticated, in my opinion," he said.
Jeff Hansen, a lay leader and 15-year member of Gobin, said Fenwick's crimes had been very hard for him and other members of the congregation to deal with.
"She wasn't a member of our congregation, but we viewed her as part of our church family," he said. "She was one of us."
David Bray, a certified public account who has been a member of Gobin for 35 years and has acted as its treasurer for about 25 years, described the church's financial position as "obviously devastated."
"We've managed to get by," he said. "But we had projects and programs planned that now won't happen."
Bray said the church literally had no money.
"What will you do this winter if the boiler goes out?" Bookwalter asked.
"Wear coats," Bray replied.
"What if the roof goes bad?" Bookwalter asked.
"We'll have to bring umbrellas," Bray said.
Putnam County Adult Probation Officer Rebecca Brush prepared Fenwick's pre-sentence investigation report.
"The thing that struck me as odd was that (Fenwick) never expressed any remorse," Brush said. "She never said she was sorry or expressed any empathy for her victims."
Ensley countered that Brush never asked Fenwick any direct questions about whether or not she was sorry about her thefts.
Fenwick said she did have remorse.
"I felt bad about it all the time," she said. "I just felt like I couldn't get out of it."
Bookwalter asked Fenwick if she felt bad about her thefts or about the fact that she had been caught.
"I feel bad period," she said.
Chris Hanneman, 20, has lived with Fenwick on and off since his early teens.
"She's a very nice lady," he said in court Monday. "She's a devoted mother. I look up to her ... I never would have thought she would do something like this."
Phyllis Neumann, a family friend who has known Fenwick "since Mindy was born," said Fenwick was the sole caregiver for her family and that "her children are her life." Neumann said Fenwick being sentence to prison time would cause great hardship for her family.
"I can't imagine three teenagers and two young children being left without a mother," she said.
Fenwick's younger sister, Tonya VanDiver, said the time since her sister's arrest had been "very stressful and difficult."
Bookwalter asked VanDiver if she knew where the money Fenwick has stolen had gone.
"She's never told me why she did this," VanDiver said. "She just said she's sorry."
Fenwick also said she was worried that her family would suffer if she went to prison -- but Bookwalter took issue with that notion.
He pointed out that Fenwick made $24,000 per year in her position as church secretary, and that she and her husband together were taking in about $3,800 per month. He estimated that Fenwick had stolen about $80,000 per year, and he surmised that she spent a large amount of that money on her family.


"The very people you're using as your hardship here today benefited from this money," Bookwalter said.
Headley said Fenwick's case should "send a message" to other businesses, not-for-profits and churches that they need to be diligent about conducting independent audits of their books.
"Your most trusted employee is the one you need to watch," he said.
Headley gave Fenwick until Friday to report and start serving her sentence.







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FORMER SUFFOLK, VIRGINIA CHURCH TREASURER GETS PROBATION ON EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGES

A former Suffolk, Virginia attorney who embezzled almost $40,000 from an Episcopal church while acting as its treasurer got three years probation in a plea bargain when she was tried in Circuit Court on December 1, 2009.

The money was returned to the church less than a year after it disappeared.
Anne Marston Lynch, 34, was treasurer at St. John's Episcopal Church near Chuckatuck in 2007 when a new treasurer took over. The man asked for an audit of the accounts, and evidence was presented that the church was missing $39,786.20.

At least $25,000 of the money was withdrawn from BB&T Bank by Lynch, and no explanation was provided in the records, according to court testimony.
According to testimony, on October 13, 2006, Lynch, while she was treasurer, used the $25,000 to set up a new account in the church's name at another bank. She also transferred about $14,000 from a church savings account to the new account.
Lynch then withdrew from the new account $39,786.20 in a cashier's check payable to a George McGaha. Prosecutor Marilyn Sally said that Lynch, at the time, represented McGaha and was working for the Suffolk law firm of Pretlow & Pretlow.
Later, evidence presented at trial showed that Lynch turned the money over to McGaha, a man she represented in a traffic-accident case and personal-injury claim in Stafford County in 2000.
In June 2007, Lynch paid back St. John's $40,311.20. Of that amount, $525 was interest, Sally said.
Lynch, standing before retired Norfolk Circuit Court Judge Charles E. Poston, tearfully answered the judge's questions in regard to the plea bargain she signed.
The case will be taken under advisement, and Lynch is to go back to court on Dec. 3, 2012, said Sally. If Lynch has a clear record until that time, the charges could be dropped.

CONNECTICUT BISHOP UNDER FIRE

A Connecticut parish is in uproar this week as a controversy involving two Irish-American priests continues to grow.
One priest is under investigation for the alleged large-scale embezzlement of church funds. But some parishioners are also complaining that a second, more junior priest has been punished by the local bishop for his efforts to expose wrongdoing.
The Rev. Michael Jude Fay was pastor at St John's Roman Catholic Church in affluent Darien, Conn., for 15 years before resigning two weeks ago. A private investigator who looked into Fay's dealings over the past 25 months has claimed that he found questionable expenses involving around $200,000 during that period.
Though no charges have yet been brought against Fay, published reports have stated that both the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Haven are looking into the matter.
This is clearly bad news for the parishioners. But many are also extremely angry at the treatment of Rev. Michael Madden.
Following Fay's resignation, Madden was promoted to acting administrator of the parish. But, after acknowledging during a Mass last week that he had joined the parish's bookkeeper, Beth D'Erario, in hiring the private investigator - and blasting the diocese for having "failed to come to my rescue when there were red flags waving everywhere" - the younger priest was summoned to Bridgeport to meet with Bishop William E. Lori.
By that night, Madden had written a letter apologizing that "I spoke way out of turn and suggested things regarding Bishop William Lori and the Diocese of Bridgeport that were not true or factual." He also described his decision to hire the private investigator as "a huge mistake which has further complicated matters."
The letter, to many parishioners' consternation, also included a statement by Madden that he had "voluntarily asked Bishop Lori to release me from my appointment as acting administrator."
Madden noted that the bishop had given him the choice of a time of "rest and reflection" immediately, or after a new pastor settled in at the church. Madden said he had chosen to stay as parochial vicar for the time being.
This, in turn, led to a tumultuous meeting at the church when a crowd estimated at 200 voiced their dissent to Bishop Lori. Many of them seemed to believe the apology had been coerced from Madden and that the requirement of "rest and reflection" essentially amounted to an attempt to oust him from the parish.
Now, the Echo has learnt that parishioners have launched a petition aimed at ensuring that Madden is not moved elsewhere and that he does not suffer for his actions.
Regarding Madden's decision to hire the private investigator, parishioner Cyndy Ashburne told the Echo, "Obviously, the man was in a position where he felt he had no choice. The Catholic Church has had a problem for a long time with hiding things, with keeping things covered up. So it's important that people step forward to right a wrong."
The initiative for hiring the private investigator is believed to have come from the bookkeeper rather than from Madden himself. But the priest is understood to have gone along with the idea after doubts emerged as to whether the diocese would be sufficiently robust in investigating suspicions of wrongdoing by Fay. Madden and D'Erario hired the private investigator, Vito Colucci Jr., with their own funds.
Another parishioner, Phillip Dolcetti, said that he had been one of those who spoke out during the stormy meeting addressed by Bishop Lori last week.
"I said to the bishop, 'He [Madden] doesn't need rest and reflection,'" Dolcetti told the Echo. "He needs rest and relaxation. That man has nothing to reflect upon. He did the right thing."
"We are all concerned that they are going to put him out to pasture," Dolcetti added. "He went out on a limb and he's jeopardized his future. You don't punish somebody who is honest."
Ashburne said that Madden "looked in pretty bad shape" at the meeting. "He looked like he had been put through the wringer," she said.
In separate interviews, both Ashburne and Dolcetti suggested that concern about the treatment of Madden is beginning to overshadow parishioners' anger at the deeds in which Fay is alleged to have been involved.
Nonetheless, rumors are rife that the current allegations about Fay's behavior could be only the tip of the iceberg. Fay's expensive clothing, use of limousines and other symptoms of a taste for the high life had perplexed some parishioners for years, though rumors that he came from a rich family quashed some suspicions.
It has also been reported that Fay owned a condominium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with a close male friend. The friend, Clifford Fantini of Philadelphia, also known as Cliff Martell, has been variously described as a fashion show director and a wedding planner. Some parishioners are adamant that Fay and Fantini/Martell were lovers and that the wedding planner often stayed at the rectory for long periods.
Fay's friend could not be reached. However, when contacted by the New York Times, he described the priest as a "most loyal friend and wonderful human being" before declining further comment.
Fay's current whereabouts are unclear.
"I'm happy that he's gone," Dolcetti said.

THE ARCHDIOCESE OF DETROIT IS CREATING A WEB SITE AND PHONE TIP LINE WHERE PARISHONERS CAN ANONYMOUSLY REPORT FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETIES AT CATHOLIC CHURCHES.

In Plymouth, Michigan the Fiegel Elementary PTO requires two signatures on each check written. And the Ann Arbor Amateur Hockey Association has spread financial responsibilities among members. On the heels of money being embezzled, the organizations are putting more safeguards in place. Nine people have been charged in southeast Michigan this year with embezzling money in cases involving the church, the hockey association, PTOs and Detroit Public Schools.
Daniel Oliver, director of finance and administration for the archdiocese, said even though a recent embezzlement case at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Grosse Pointe Woods was discussed, the impetus for the Web site -- which they hope to launch by the end 2009 -- was to enable the archdiocese to be more proactive.
A former bookkeeper is charged with stealing more than $90,000. The case is now in Wayne County Circuit Court.
"Nobody wants to be the one to call in and be the person to air the dirty laundry," Oliver said. "What this system does, it allows us to really kind of dig through, ask questions, do some follow-up to see whether or not the claim somebody is making really has some validity to it."
Churches, schools, volunteer groups lose cash to theft. They were trusted parents and volunteers, paid bookkeepers and church members. They handled finances for boosters, athletic clubs, parent-teacher organizations, Catholic parishes and schools.
And when no one was looking, they stole. After being victims of embezzlement, groups in cities like Plymouth, Ann Arbor and Troy, as well as Van Dyke Public Schools in Warren, have put safeguards in place, including requiring multiple signatures on checks, doing background checks on potential bookkeepers and not allowing one person to handle all finances.
The Fiegel Elementary PTO in Plymouth -- where a former treasurer and her husband were charged in May with stealing more than $14,000 -- requires background checks.
The Troy Athens High School Athletic Boosters -- which had a former concession manager, sentenced to five years of probation in 2008, steal $5,800 -- has made changes including that money from concessions be counted by two people, said boosters President LaRue Williams.
A former bookkeeper who handled all of the Ann Arbor Amateur Hockey Association's finances embezzled more than $800,000. Lindsay Aspegren, treasurer of the association's board, said the group now provides more financial training for board members.
Van Dyke Public Schools, where a former secretary was accused in June of stealing $112,000, now reviews banks statements more frequently, said district spokeswoman Renee Burch.
The Archdiocese of Detroit is creating a Web site and phone line for people to give anonymous tips. A former bookkeeper at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Grosse Pointe Woods was charged in September with embezzling more than $90,000.
Daniel Oliver, director of finance and administration for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said he hopes the new anonymous tip service "will deter anyone who might be thinking about doing anything from going forward with it."
Canton Police Detective Tim Wright, who investigated the Fiegel PTO case, said one person should never be put in charge of all of an organization's finances
"You can't trust," he said. "No matter who it is."

CHURCH EMBEZZLING SECRETARY IMPRISONED

Judy L. Albee, 45, of Shell Lake, the former church secretary and treasurer for Faith Lutheran Church in Spooner, received a five-year prison sentence on Oct. 27, 2009 for stealing more than $13,000 from a church account between December 2006 and January 2009.  This was not her first conviction. She already had served time in federal prison for another case where she embezzled.

In the Faith Lutheran case, Albee was charged with seven different counts related to writing 14 unauthorized church checks to individuals and entities to which the church owed money. The checks were endorsed by the “alleged payees” – names Albee forged – and by Albee herself. The complaint said Washburn County District Judge Eugene Harrington, who is a member of Faith Lutheran, had been alerted by Marilyn Norton, assistant treasurer for the church, that Albee had “endorsed and cashed without the knowledge, permission or consent of church elders, board members or pastor.”
Austin Parenteau, investigator for Washburn County Sheriff’s Office, contacted the payees on the 14 checks and all “confirmed” they had not received the checks.In an int erview with Parenteau on March 3, the complaint said, Albee confessed “to stealing thousands of dollars from the church by forging a number of checks which were then either cashed by her directly or deposited into her personal financial accounts without the church’s knowledge, permission or consent.”
In the complaint, Albee said she stole the funds to cover “delinquent” mortgage payments.
Harrington recused himself from the case because of his membership at Faith Lutheran, and Kenneth Kutz, Burnett County District Court judge, took over. Albee pleaded guilty to theft of more than $10,000 in a business setting; two counts of forgery; theft of $5,000 to $10,000 in a business setting; forgery uttering; and fraudulent writings by a corporation officer.
For theft of business greater than $10,000, Kutz sentenced Albee to three years in prison and three years extended supervision; for forgery, two years in prison and two years extended supervision. The two sentences are to be served consecutively, which means Albee will serve a minimum of five years in prison.
For theft of business greater than $5,000 to $10,000 and the second forgery charge, Albee received three years probation for each, with the sentence withheld.

The three other charges were dismissed but read into the record for sentencing.
Kutz ordered the state to submit a restitution plan against Albee within 60 days.
Kutz ordered Albee to do 100 hours of community service within “the community” each year she is on extended supervision or probation.

FORMER CHURCH TREASURER FACES EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGE

A Hillsboro, Ohio man was indicted by a Highland County grand jury on November 3, 2009 on charges of theft and tampering with records after he allegedly embezzled more than $200,000 from an area church.

Dennis L. Butler, 68, was indicted on one count of theft, a third-degree felony, and one count of tampering with records, a third-degree felony.
According to the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, the indictment was the result of an ongoing investigation by detectives with the HCSO into allegations that Butler was embezzling money from a Concord Township church where he had been serving as treasurer for a number of years.
Sheriff Ron Ward said that the investigation was initiated by the HCSO in August after the church board approached the sheriff’s office with concerns over church accounts.
“There were some irregularities on the church accounts that caused concern among board members,” Ward said. “We initiated an investigation in August, and audits of the records showed a misappropriation of church funds that goes back many years.”
The sheriff’s office said the charges were the result of Butler using church money for personal gain or use, as well as creating fictitious accounting records. The funds in question total more than $202,000, and involve a period of more than five years.
During the time period of the theft, Butler was working as a local insurance and investment agent, the sheriff’s office said. Part of the theft case involved misappropriation of funds from annuities owned by the church that Butler managed as an investment adviser.
Ward said that while the church board came forward with the concerns, it was the sheriff’s office that pursued the investigation.
“They came to us with concerns. Once we find that a crime has been committed, we’re ethically required to move forward and charge those involved,” he said. “I feel pretty strongly that in a church environment, it’s a bad situation to prosecute one of your elders. That is not an easy decision. But the board members did the right thing.”
Butler, who is a current member of the Hillsboro Planning Commission, current officer on the Highland County Republican Central Committee, has been president of the Highland County Board of MRDD and was presented the Distinguished Service Award from the Ohio MRDD in October 2008, turned himself in to the sheriff’s office Wednesday and was arraigned in Highland County Common Pleas Court via video arraignment, where bond was set at $10,000.