FROM CONNECTIONNEWSPAPERS.COM-
They say a poor excuse is better than none, but in Eun Tae Lee’s case, it wasn’t helpful, at all. He told his attorney he was being blackmailed by a former lover so, to meet her demands, he stole nearly half a million dollars from an organization dedicated to helping the world’s poor.
So although the state sentencing guidelines for his three counts of embezzlement recommended probation, the judge tasked with punishing the Penderbrook man last week exceeded the guidelines and sentenced him to a year in jail. Lee, 51, of the 12100 block of Wedgeway Court in Fair Oaks, must also make full restitution to the victim, SEED International.
"The defendant stole $471,766 from a nonprofit, missionary organization that supports missionaries around the world," said Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Sean Morgan, on Thursday, June 30, in Loudoun County Circuit Court. "The theft of this money had a great impact on their ability to conduct their affairs."
Although authorities initially believed Lee embezzled more than $700,000, Morgan said the figure he gave the court was the actual amount. And in a March 30, 2010 affidavit for a warrant to search Lee’s home for possible evidence, Deputy Charles Perinis, an investigator with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, explained the case against Lee.
According to the affidavit, on March 26, 2010, members of SEED International, a faith-based, nonprofit in Sterling, reported the theft by Lee, their former financial officer. They told Perinis that Lee perpetrated the crime by gaining control of the church’s bank accounts and writing checks from these accounts to individual accounts he’d established in his own name.
The deputy wrote that Lee then used this money "to support a lavish lifestyle that included his residence on Wedgeway Court, the rent for [a particular] apartment at in Annandale, the purchase of a 2006 Porsche Cayenne [SUV] and his personal living expenses."
Furthermore, wrote Perinis, when members of SEED International asked Lee about the missing money, he "produced counterfeit financial documents and bank statements to show a falsified investment of the church’s funds." The deputy noted that, upon questioning, a bank representative confirmed that the bank letters and statements "were, in fact, counterfeit."
SEED International assists missionaries from a Sterling-based church with funding. The group’s stated goal is "to provide humanitarian aid and services to the poorest of the poor in the developing world, especially in the areas of Survival, Education, and Economic Development" (SEED).
Lee turned himself in to the Loudoun Sheriff’s Office on April 15, 2010, and was charged with 16 counts of embezzlement. Then on July 12 of that year, the Loudoun County grand jury indicted him on every count.
He pleaded guilty March 4 to three counts of embezzlement and, in exchange, the other 13 counts were dropped. He then returned to Circuit Court on June 30 for sentencing before Judge Thomas Horne.
At the outset, defense attorney Jay Myerson gave prosecutor Morgan a check for $1,200 from Lee toward his restitution. Morgan then presented it to a pastor from SEED.
"This defendant should receive a long period of incarceration," said Morgan. "And he should pay at least $2,000/month, or 50 percent of his monthly income, in the future, toward his restitution. Noting that Lee had given him a statement of his personal assets, liabilities and expenses, Morgan said Lee could pay this amount if he changed his lifestyle.
"There’s a $900/month credit-card payment, but this should go to restitution before paying off this debt," said the prosecutor. "There’s only [Lee] and his wife, but they’re spending $700/month on groceries and gas. This should be $400, with the other $300 going toward restitution."
Although Lee stated that he pays $500/month for utilities, Morgan said that, if the Penderbrook man has more than basic cable and phone service, this amount, too, could be reduced. "He reports a $1,200 monthly income. He should be required to pay half of this amount per month," said Morgan. "And he could probably find a less-expensive, living situation."
Morgan was adamant, he told the judge, because "The charges against Lee have been pending since April 2010 and, until he came in with that $1,200 today, he hadn’t paid one, red cent in restitution. His statement of assets shows more concern about himself than about SEED."
"Like many people who steal, he places his own wants above the needs of others," said Morgan. "He just doesn’t get it. If the defendant was really remorseful, he’d give a full statement of where he transferred this money, how and to whom, but he hasn’t told us."
Furthermore, said Morgan, "The defendant said his affair predated this 18-month-long embezzlement, but he was using SEED money to pay for her apartment. He purchased a Porsche Cayenne, which has not been recovered, and a vehicle from a Land Rover Jaguar dealer. He used these checks for himself." Because of all these factors, as well as Lee’s "attempts to cover his tracks," Morgan said he deserved 12 months incarceration, plus a "lengthy term" of suspended time to make sure he pays his restitution.
Instead of calling witnesses to testify on his client’s behalf, Myerson proffered their statements to the court. A Mrs. Park of Fairfax knew Lee through her church worship group and said he did volunteer work for her company.
Jae Kim of Pennsylvania called Lee "fundamentally, a good man who’s done many good deeds," and Mrs. Kim spoke of the work Lee did at the Antioch School in Pennsylvania and the awards he received. A Mr. Yoon of Korean Central Presbyterian Church (KCPC) noted Lee’s work in the church’s counseling department.
Myerson told Judge Horne that all these things "reflect the full measure of this man’s life, not just the deeds before you today."
Lee’s wife, who was in Korea for a sick relative’s operation, wrote in an affidavit, "I don’t know what I’ll do if [my husband’s] in jail." She also said he’d done charitable work and had helped many people."
"He’s been married over 21 years and has no criminal record," said Myerson. "He’s never before been in trouble. [In addition], five friends each pledged to pay $100,000 to the church toward the restitution because they believe the whole ledger of his life should be taken into account, and they’ve been making payments."
Regarding any personal gain Lee received from the embezzlement, Myerson said, "This is a man in dire distress. His home is underwater, he has considerable debt and he didn’t use the money toward his expenses. Utilities and gas aren’t discretionary [expenses]. He could pay 25 percent of his gross income, but he only makes $1,200/month in a dry cleaners. His wife is supporting him now; any [higher payment] would be punishing her."
Myerson then explained that Lee had an affair in 2003. "When he saw [the woman] years later in church, she blackmailed him," said the attorney. "She said she’d confront his wife if he didn’t give her assistance. At some point, he wanted to stop. But by then, he was in too deep. He tried to get back the money from her, but she hired an attorney and my client didn’t have the money to fight her."
Requesting probation for Lee, Myerson said, "He’s demonstrated genuine remorse. He’s apologized to SEED and tried to raise the money; unfortunately, it’s not there to be raised."
Lee then stood and expressed "deep regret" for his actions. "In the past 14 months, I have had time for reflection," he said. "I fully recognize what I did was terribly wrong, even though I didn’t keep the money for myself." Crying, he said, "I apologize to SEED, KCPC and my wife and family for the pain I’ve caused [them]."
"I’ll take this as an opportunity to be a better human being, and I will repay the money," added Lee. "I have worked to improve the community all my life and will continue to do so. I ask you, from the bottom of my heart, for mercy so I can be with my wife and pay restitution."
However, the judge just couldn’t ignore Lee’s behavior. "Embezzlement is a violation of a special trust someone placed in another to take care of their property," he explained. Horne also compared Lee’s case to some similar ones he’s sentenced.
In a case many years ago, he said, a woman embezzled money from the DMV to help her husband with terminal cancer. "That explanation draws on a judge’s humanity," said Horne. Yet another woman had embezzled PTA funds earmarked for children’s activities.
"The children had worked hard to raise the money, and she’d preyed upon their good works, and [your] case is like that," the judge told Lee. "You embezzled from a charity. This money was to be used for good works, but it was just used for somebody’s pleasure, even if you were being blackmailed."
Horne then imposed a sentence that would punish Lee for his crime while placing him in a position to pay back the money he owes. He sentenced Lee to 10 years in prison for each of his three counts of embezzlement and ran the sentences consecutively, for 30 years total.
"That ought to be a beacon sign that the court takes this offense very seriously," said the judge. He then suspended all but 12 months and placed Lee on three years probation when his incarceration is completed.
Horne also ordered Lee to pay $471,766 restitution to SEED at a rate of $2,000/month, or half his gross income. "The court will authorize work release, if approved [by the county sheriff]," he said. "And community service can go toward paying your court costs. The court deviated upward from the sentencing guidelines, given the nature of your offense."
Showing posts with label church embezzlement virginia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church embezzlement virginia. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Former Va. Beach pastor charged with embezzlement
Police have charged the former pastor of a Baptist church with fraud and embezzlement after representatives from the church accused him of stealing thousands of dollars from the congregation.
Lamont Duane Brown, 45, of Suffolk, is accused of taking money from Mount Olive Baptist Church between June 2003 and July 2010, according to police and General District Court records online. He'd been a pastor for about 15 years before the church terminated his employment last year.
Brown is accused of increasing his salary without church approval, opening a credit card in the church's name and using it to pay for more than $6,000 in personal expenses, and writing three bad checks to the church, each for $1,000, said Officer Jimmy Barnes, a police spokesman.
Police arrested Brown on March 10 on felony charges of embezzlement, identity theft, credit card fraud and three counts of writing bad checks. He's been released on $7,500 bond and is scheduled to appear in court April 22.
Brown's attorney, Sonny Stallings, said the church accidentally overpaid him by $10,000 in 2009 and had worked out an agreement where he repaid $1,000 each month.
He paid back $4,000 but bounced three $1,000 checks, he said.
Brown did open a credit card jointly in his name and the church's name, but he made the payments, Stallings said.
Brown owes Mount Olive about $6,000, a debt that should be settled in civil, not criminal, court, Stallings said.
"When this gets to criminal court, I predict all these charge are going to be thrown out," Stallings said. "This is a faction of that church being vindictive."
Mount Olive Baptist Church is on North Birdneck Road in Seatack and is one of the city's oldest black congregations. It has about 300 members, said Isaac Smith Sr., a church deacon.
Lamont Duane Brown, 45, of Suffolk, is accused of taking money from Mount Olive Baptist Church between June 2003 and July 2010, according to police and General District Court records online. He'd been a pastor for about 15 years before the church terminated his employment last year.
Brown is accused of increasing his salary without church approval, opening a credit card in the church's name and using it to pay for more than $6,000 in personal expenses, and writing three bad checks to the church, each for $1,000, said Officer Jimmy Barnes, a police spokesman.
Police arrested Brown on March 10 on felony charges of embezzlement, identity theft, credit card fraud and three counts of writing bad checks. He's been released on $7,500 bond and is scheduled to appear in court April 22.
Brown's attorney, Sonny Stallings, said the church accidentally overpaid him by $10,000 in 2009 and had worked out an agreement where he repaid $1,000 each month.
He paid back $4,000 but bounced three $1,000 checks, he said.
Brown did open a credit card jointly in his name and the church's name, but he made the payments, Stallings said.
Brown owes Mount Olive about $6,000, a debt that should be settled in civil, not criminal, court, Stallings said.
"When this gets to criminal court, I predict all these charge are going to be thrown out," Stallings said. "This is a faction of that church being vindictive."
Mount Olive Baptist Church is on North Birdneck Road in Seatack and is one of the city's oldest black congregations. It has about 300 members, said Isaac Smith Sr., a church deacon.
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
A Penderbrook man accused of stealing more than $700,000 from an organization that helps the world’s poor pleaded guilty March 4 to three counts of embezzlement. He is Eun Tae Lee, 51, of Wedgeway Court in Fair Oaks.
Deputy Charles Perinis, an investigator with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, explained the case against him in a March 30, 2010 affidavit for a warrant to search Lee’s home for possible evidence.
According to the affidavit, on March 26, 2010, members of the SEED International — a faith-based, nonprofit in Sterling — told authorities that their former financial officer, Lee, had embezzled "in excess of $700,000 from their organization. They informed [Perinis] that Lee accomplished this by gaining control of the church’s bank accounts and writing checks from these accounts to individual accounts he’d established in his own name."
The deputy wrote that Lee then used this money "to support a lavish lifestyle that included his residence on Wedgeway Court, the rent for an apartment at 4602 Commons Drive in Annandale, the purchase of a 2006 Porsche Cayenne [SUV] and his personal living expenses."
Furthermore, wrote Perinis, when members of SEED International asked Lee about the missing money, he "produced counterfeit financial documents and bank statements to show a falsified investment of the church’s funds." The deputy noted that, upon questioning, a bank representative confirmed that the bank letters and statements "were, in fact, counterfeit."
SEED International assists missionaries from a Sterling-based church with funding. The group’s Web site states its goal as "to provide humanitarian aid and services to the poorest of the poor in the developing world, especially in the areas of Survival, Education, and Economic Development" (SEED).
Lee turned himself in to the Loudoun Sheriff’s Office on April 15, 2010, and was charged with 16 counts of embezzlement. Then on July 12 of that year, the Loudoun County grand jury indicted him on every count
After various delays, he was scheduled for a March 14 jury trial but, instead, pleaded guilty to three counts of embezzlement on March 4. In exchange, the other 13 counts were dropped. Judge Thomas Horne then set his sentencing for June 30.
Deputy Charles Perinis, an investigator with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, explained the case against him in a March 30, 2010 affidavit for a warrant to search Lee’s home for possible evidence.
According to the affidavit, on March 26, 2010, members of the SEED International — a faith-based, nonprofit in Sterling — told authorities that their former financial officer, Lee, had embezzled "in excess of $700,000 from their organization. They informed [Perinis] that Lee accomplished this by gaining control of the church’s bank accounts and writing checks from these accounts to individual accounts he’d established in his own name."
The deputy wrote that Lee then used this money "to support a lavish lifestyle that included his residence on Wedgeway Court, the rent for an apartment at 4602 Commons Drive in Annandale, the purchase of a 2006 Porsche Cayenne [SUV] and his personal living expenses."
Furthermore, wrote Perinis, when members of SEED International asked Lee about the missing money, he "produced counterfeit financial documents and bank statements to show a falsified investment of the church’s funds." The deputy noted that, upon questioning, a bank representative confirmed that the bank letters and statements "were, in fact, counterfeit."
SEED International assists missionaries from a Sterling-based church with funding. The group’s Web site states its goal as "to provide humanitarian aid and services to the poorest of the poor in the developing world, especially in the areas of Survival, Education, and Economic Development" (SEED).
Lee turned himself in to the Loudoun Sheriff’s Office on April 15, 2010, and was charged with 16 counts of embezzlement. Then on July 12 of that year, the Loudoun County grand jury indicted him on every count
After various delays, he was scheduled for a March 14 jury trial but, instead, pleaded guilty to three counts of embezzlement on March 4. In exchange, the other 13 counts were dropped. Judge Thomas Horne then set his sentencing for June 30.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Virginia Church treasurer charged with embezzlement
The former treasurer of Bradley Street Baptist Church in Bristol, Va., was charged last month with embezzlement, accused of writing checks to himself worth $14,000 from the church’s bank account.
Randall C. Sargent Jr., 53, of Droke Lane in Blountville, Tenn., was charged with four counts of embezzlement, an unclassified felony akin to grand larceny.
Bristol Virginia Police Sgt. Steve Crawford said Sargent was the unpaid treasurer of the church for more than a decade. The current charges date to April 2008, according to court records, though Crawford said additional charges are pending, some for thefts dating back five years. Police are still waiting for subpoenaed credit card and banking records from Bank of America and Crawford estimated the final total could be as much as $30,000.
Sargent did not return a message left at his home Friday.
In March, a member of the church’s board of directors went to police after noticing some irregularities in the banking records. Sargent was the authorized signer on the church’s checking account and exclusively responsible for counting the money and paying the bills.
In April 2008, according to criminal complaints, Sargent issued himself a $3,000 check from the church’s bank account and cashed it at Carter Bank & Trust in Bristol, Va. Then in September 2008, Sargent wrote check number 5384 for $3,500, issued to cash, and cashed it at Blue Ridge Bank & Trust in Bristol, Va., according to the complaints.
In March 2010, Sargent wrote check number 5631 for $6,000, made out to himself and cashed at Carter Bank & Trust in Bristol, Va., court records stated. The next month, he wrote check number 5638 for $1,500, issued to himself and again cashed at Carter Bank & Trust.
Crawford said the leadership of the church is currently unclear. The board of directors disbanded and the pastor resigned, in part over the embezzlement investigation. No one returned a series of messages left on the church’s machine over several weeks.
Crawford called it a mid-sized congregation, though he was not sure exactly how big. The church’s funding comes exclusively from its congregation’s tithes and offerings.
At the time of his arrest, Sargent was an accountant with Charles Bridwell CPA and Associates in Gate City, Va. The company did not return a Friday call seeking comment.
There is no set sentencing parameters for unclassified felonies.
Sargent was released from the Bristol Virginia Jail on a $3,500 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in General District Court at 9 a.m. July 22.
Randall C. Sargent Jr., 53, of Droke Lane in Blountville, Tenn., was charged with four counts of embezzlement, an unclassified felony akin to grand larceny.
Bristol Virginia Police Sgt. Steve Crawford said Sargent was the unpaid treasurer of the church for more than a decade. The current charges date to April 2008, according to court records, though Crawford said additional charges are pending, some for thefts dating back five years. Police are still waiting for subpoenaed credit card and banking records from Bank of America and Crawford estimated the final total could be as much as $30,000.
Sargent did not return a message left at his home Friday.
In March, a member of the church’s board of directors went to police after noticing some irregularities in the banking records. Sargent was the authorized signer on the church’s checking account and exclusively responsible for counting the money and paying the bills.
In April 2008, according to criminal complaints, Sargent issued himself a $3,000 check from the church’s bank account and cashed it at Carter Bank & Trust in Bristol, Va. Then in September 2008, Sargent wrote check number 5384 for $3,500, issued to cash, and cashed it at Blue Ridge Bank & Trust in Bristol, Va., according to the complaints.
In March 2010, Sargent wrote check number 5631 for $6,000, made out to himself and cashed at Carter Bank & Trust in Bristol, Va., court records stated. The next month, he wrote check number 5638 for $1,500, issued to himself and again cashed at Carter Bank & Trust.
Crawford said the leadership of the church is currently unclear. The board of directors disbanded and the pastor resigned, in part over the embezzlement investigation. No one returned a series of messages left on the church’s machine over several weeks.
Crawford called it a mid-sized congregation, though he was not sure exactly how big. The church’s funding comes exclusively from its congregation’s tithes and offerings.
At the time of his arrest, Sargent was an accountant with Charles Bridwell CPA and Associates in Gate City, Va. The company did not return a Friday call seeking comment.
There is no set sentencing parameters for unclassified felonies.
Sargent was released from the Bristol Virginia Jail on a $3,500 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in General District Court at 9 a.m. July 22.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Virginia church secretary found guilty of embezzlement
Parish secretary found guilty of embezzlement. Debra Lee Epps, former secretary at Church Church, Smithfield, VA, pled guilty April 30 in Circuit Court to eight counts of embezzlement and one count each of forging and uttering checks. During the trial, Ms. Epps apologized to the congregation for embezzling more than $300,000, according to the Associated Press. Wayne Farmer, prosecutor for the Commonwealth of Virginia, told the court that Mrs. Epps took the money over a 10-year period beginning in 1998. He said Mrs. Epps told investigators she used the money to pay for school tuition, credit card bills, horseback riding lessons, and her family's annual trip to Florida. Mrs. Epps faces up to 180 years in prison when she returns to court for sentencing on July 7
Monday, April 19, 2010
Virginia Christian group officer accused of embezzling $700,000
A top officer of a nonprofit Christian missionary group has been arrested for allegedly embezzling more than $700,000 from the Northern Virginia group and using it to support a "lavish lifestyle" that included buying a Porsche sport-utility vehicle and renting a second residence, Loudoun County authorities said Friday. Eun Tae Lee, 50, is listed in an annual report as the chief administrative officer for Seed International Inc., a missionary company sponsored by the Korean Central Presbyterian Church in Vienna but funded by numerous Korean churches around the world.
Won Sang Lee, the retired senior pastor of Korean Central, is the president of Seed, and Chang Soo Ro, the senior pastor of Korean Central, is listed as Seed's secretary in the company's annual report to the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
It was unclear how many employees or missionaries Seed has, nor were there details about donations the company receives. Officials at Seed and Korean Central did not return multiple requests for comment.
F. Douglas Ross, an attorney for Seed, said the effect of the embezzlement "obviously is significant. It's an international humane organization that provides missionary services and support across the globe."
Seed's offices are in Sterling. Members of Seed first approached the Loudoun Sheriff's Office on March 26, according to a search warrant affidavit, and reported that Eun Tae Lee had "embezzled in excess of $700,000 from their organization."
The group's members told C.A. Perinis, an investigator with the sheriff's office, that Lee had gained control of the group's bank account and had written checks to accounts he had set up in his own name, Perinis wrote in an affidavit for a search warrant for Lee's townhouse in the Fair Oaks area of Fairfax County. Perinis also obtained a search warrant for an apartment on Commons Drive in Annandale, which the affidavit alleged Lee was renting with stolen funds from Seed.
The affidavit also claims that Lee bought a 2006 Porsche Cayenne sport-utility vehicle, which can cost $100,000 or more, and used Seed's money for personal expenses. When Seed members confronted Lee about the missing money, Perinis wrote, he allegedly produced phony financial documents and bank statements to show investments of the "church's funds." A bank representative reportedly later told Seed officials that the documents were counterfeit, the affidavit states.
Lee's home in the 12100 block of Wedgeway Court in the Penderbrook neighborhood and the Annandale apartment were searched April 2, and computers and documents were seized in both places, court records show. A woman who lives in the Annandale apartment said she had never heard of Lee and did not know why her computer was taken. But sheriff's spokesman Kraig Troxell said, "We have evidence obtained during the investigation that links the Annandale address to this embezzlement case."
It could not be determined how long Lee had worked for Seed, or how big the group's reach is. One church member said Seed sponsors Christian missions around the globe, but Ross did not know how many. Troxell and Ross declined to comment on how long the alleged embezzlement might have lasted. Lee first appears in the company's annual reports as an officer in 2008.
Lee surrendered to Loudoun authorities Thursday to face one charge of embezzlement. He appeared before a magistrate and was released on his own recognizance, Troxell said. He did not answer the door at his home Friday.
Loudoun Commonwealth's Attorney James E. Plowman said the case was "very troubling, given the significant amount of funds that are involved, and particularly aggravating, given the charitable nature of the work the victims perform."
Won Sang Lee, the retired senior pastor of Korean Central, is the president of Seed, and Chang Soo Ro, the senior pastor of Korean Central, is listed as Seed's secretary in the company's annual report to the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
It was unclear how many employees or missionaries Seed has, nor were there details about donations the company receives. Officials at Seed and Korean Central did not return multiple requests for comment.
F. Douglas Ross, an attorney for Seed, said the effect of the embezzlement "obviously is significant. It's an international humane organization that provides missionary services and support across the globe."
Seed's offices are in Sterling. Members of Seed first approached the Loudoun Sheriff's Office on March 26, according to a search warrant affidavit, and reported that Eun Tae Lee had "embezzled in excess of $700,000 from their organization."
The group's members told C.A. Perinis, an investigator with the sheriff's office, that Lee had gained control of the group's bank account and had written checks to accounts he had set up in his own name, Perinis wrote in an affidavit for a search warrant for Lee's townhouse in the Fair Oaks area of Fairfax County. Perinis also obtained a search warrant for an apartment on Commons Drive in Annandale, which the affidavit alleged Lee was renting with stolen funds from Seed.
The affidavit also claims that Lee bought a 2006 Porsche Cayenne sport-utility vehicle, which can cost $100,000 or more, and used Seed's money for personal expenses. When Seed members confronted Lee about the missing money, Perinis wrote, he allegedly produced phony financial documents and bank statements to show investments of the "church's funds." A bank representative reportedly later told Seed officials that the documents were counterfeit, the affidavit states.
Lee's home in the 12100 block of Wedgeway Court in the Penderbrook neighborhood and the Annandale apartment were searched April 2, and computers and documents were seized in both places, court records show. A woman who lives in the Annandale apartment said she had never heard of Lee and did not know why her computer was taken. But sheriff's spokesman Kraig Troxell said, "We have evidence obtained during the investigation that links the Annandale address to this embezzlement case."
It could not be determined how long Lee had worked for Seed, or how big the group's reach is. One church member said Seed sponsors Christian missions around the globe, but Ross did not know how many. Troxell and Ross declined to comment on how long the alleged embezzlement might have lasted. Lee first appears in the company's annual reports as an officer in 2008.
Lee surrendered to Loudoun authorities Thursday to face one charge of embezzlement. He appeared before a magistrate and was released on his own recognizance, Troxell said. He did not answer the door at his home Friday.
Loudoun Commonwealth's Attorney James E. Plowman said the case was "very troubling, given the significant amount of funds that are involved, and particularly aggravating, given the charitable nature of the work the victims perform."
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Winchester, Virginia woman admits church embezzlement
A Winchester woman faces up to eight years in prison for embezzling more than $300,000 from a church and an affiliated school.
Lois Beatrice Clemons is scheduled to be sentenced March 4 after pleading guilty in Frederick County Circuit Court on January 5, 2010 to 55 counts of embezzlement.
The 57-year-old Clemons formerly worked as a bookkeeper for Shenandoah Valley Baptist Church and Shenandoah Valley Christian Academy. According to court docu-ments, she embezzled the money from December 2003 to January 2009.
Frederick County Commonwealth’s Attorney Glenn Williamson says Clemons used the money to buy real estate and a deck for her house, and to pay for tuition for her children. She also bought cars for her children.
Lois Beatrice Clemons is scheduled to be sentenced March 4 after pleading guilty in Frederick County Circuit Court on January 5, 2010 to 55 counts of embezzlement.
The 57-year-old Clemons formerly worked as a bookkeeper for Shenandoah Valley Baptist Church and Shenandoah Valley Christian Academy. According to court docu-ments, she embezzled the money from December 2003 to January 2009.
Frederick County Commonwealth’s Attorney Glenn Williamson says Clemons used the money to buy real estate and a deck for her house, and to pay for tuition for her children. She also bought cars for her children.
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