Kansas church discovers $100K embezzlement

Officials of Unity of Wichita held a news conference Sunday to announce the recent discovery that in excess of $100,000 was missing from church accounts, according to a media release from the church.

Senior Pastor Reverend Daybree Thoms said, “It is with great sadness that we had to notify our congregation today, that a trusted church member has confessed to systematically embezzling money from Unity of Wichita for several years.

Because the amount is in excess of $100,000, we have reported the loss to authorities and will allow the justice system to follow through with appropriate action.”

Thoms explained that because she was only recently appointed new Senior Pastor for Unity of Wichita, she had requested that a routine audit of church finances be conducted. “It was that routine request for an audit that prompted the church bookkeeper to submit a written confession to church officials,” said Thoms.

Unity of Wichita Board of Trustees President, Joe Dunlavy, said, “This revelation is, in no way, a reflection on our previous senior pastor, our interim pastors nor any member of the Board of Trustees. This individual was a highly respected member of the church leadership and has admitted to being solely responsible for the missing funds.”

Dunlavy explained that though the discovery is fiscally painful for the church, it is the emotional shock that is most difficult for the congregation. “Fundamental to Unity’s principles and teachings is the belief that we are each, individual expressions of God; so, this is extremely devastating because the individual in whom we had entrusted our finances was a highly respected and beloved member of our church family.”

If there is an “up side” to the discovery that such a large amount of money is missing, Rev. Thoms said, “It’s my hope — and the hope of everyone at Unity of Wichita— that our experience will serve as a reminder to all churches: that, though we trust in God, when it comes to finances, audits are still necessary.” She said no church should entrust so much responsibility in just one individual.

“Oversight and transparency,” explained Thoms, “should be paramount in the financial procedures of any church whether large or small. And, regardless of the misguided reasons for having betrayed the congregation’s trust, we still hold the individual who committed this crime in our prayers and extend our love and forgiveness. Unity is about making our spiritual principles and ideals come alive — even in situations like this.”

“As the President of the Board of Trustees,” said Dunlavy, “I am grateful that Reverend Thoms wisely requested an audit as she stepped up to become our Senior Pastor; because, if she hadn’t, the problem may, very well, have persisted indefinitely. If nothing else,” Dunlavy continued, “it is certainly a relief to one-and-all, to discover the problem sooner than later. With Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus ramping up right across the street from Unity of Wichita, we are on the threshold of an exciting new era in our history. Now, the healing can really begin.”

Unity of Wichita is a member of Unity Worldwide Ministries in Lee Summit, Missouri.

Harper county couple admits to embezzlement

A couple from Harper County has agreed to pay more than $132,000 to Bridgeport Missionary Baptist Church in Wichita, after admitting to embezzling $130,000 from the church.

David and Teresa Wilcox acted as secretary treasurer for the church “for many years,” according to a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday.

KWCH reports that on Thursday, the Wilcoxes agreed to pay the amount of money embezzled, attorney fees and costs, according to a legal document. The money must be paid by March 31, 2018.

According to police records, Church members voted and decided not to prosecute, preferring to handle the matter in civil court.

Corlin J. Pratt, attorney for the church, would not say why the church didn’t press criminal action, only that the matter had been “amicably resolved.”

Calls to David and Teresa Wilcox were not returned Friday.

Kan. school district awarded $490K from estate after employee embezzlement

 A Kansas school district has recovered nearly half a million dollars from the estate of a former technology director who’s believed to have embezzled district money before killing himself.

The Wichita Eagle reports a federal judge has awarded the Maize school district roughly $490,000 from Ramon Mosate’s estate. Mosate worked for the district from 1997 until he was fired in February 2015, three months after the FBI executed a search warrant at district headquarters.

An FBI affidavit chronicled years of money transfers and cash payments between Mosate and vendors who were paid more than $4 million for technology-related services.

Maize superintendent Chad Higgins told school employees the award didn’t cover all of what the district lost, but it was positive news at a time of uncertainty on school funding.

Salina church's former treasurer arrested for embezzlement

A Salina man accused of embezzling more than $7,500 from a local church for which he served as treasurer was arrested Wednesday after he turned himself in.

Salina police issued a warrant on Dec. 7 for Terry J. Geer, 36, who was wanted on 98 counts of unlawful use of a financial card and one count of felony theft, Salina police Capt. Mike Sweeney said.

Geer is accused of making 53 unauthorized charges at Salina stores and purchasing 45 Moneygrams using a credit card belonging to Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, 639 Max, between May 2013 and June 2014, Sweeney said.

The unauthorized charges totaling more than $7,640 were discovered during an internal audit after church members came to think money was missing from church accounts, Sweeney said.

NE Kansas children's choir trying to replace funds lost to alleged embezzlement

A group of northeast Kansas children is scrambling to come up with money to fund a trip to Colorado after a trusted adult was accused of stealing thousands of dollars from their travel fund.

Glen Irwin was charged last week with felony theft after roughly $10,000 was found to be missing from the Geary County Children's Choir's bank account, the Junction City Daily Union  reported. Irwin used to be the choir's business manager.

The choir had been selling candy bars and performing around Junction City to raise money for the trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado, scheduled for after the end of the school year.

"It's a shock to the kids because they spent a lot of hours fundraising," said Greg Gooden, director of the children's choir. "It's sad someone would take money from children. That's really what he did."

The complaint filed Thursday accuses Irwin — who was a member of the fundraising committee for three years and served as business manager for one — of stealing money between Jan. 1, 2012, and June 8, 2013.

The total cost of the trip is $35,000. The choir was unable to make the first payment of more than $8,000 in January because of the theft. The choir now must make a double payment to the tour company in February.

"Prior to Christmas vacation, we noticed there was money missing and I questioned him through emails and texts," Gooden said. "He finally agreed to meet with us and he lied to us."

Gooden said Irwin claimed to need the money for liver cancer, but that turned out to be untrue.

Irwin is being represented by the public defender's office in Junction City, which declined to comment Tuesday morning.

Gooden said he was told the money would be replaced, with interest, by Jan. 13, but that never happened.

"We may get some of that back with restitution, but that may be a long process," he said.

Meanwhile, the 60 choir members continue rehearsing and are scheduled to perform in February for the Kansas Music Educators Association. In addition to fundraising, each child already paid $250 for the trip.

"We're going to go on and make the best we can out of this situation," Gooden said.

Former City Clerk in Havana, Kansas Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

A former city clerk for the city of Havana, Kansas pleaded guilty Wednesday to embezzling funds from the city and from her church, United States Attorney Barry Grissom said. She agreed to pay restitution of approximately $14,658 to the city of Havana and $44,568 to Cross Point Baptist Church. Diana L Cox, 67, Havana, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud. In her plea, she admitted embezzling $14,658 from the city of Havana while she was working as city clerk.

On August 18, 2011, she presented documents to the Arvest Bank in Caney, Kansas, falsely stating that the Havana City Council had voted to change its policy to require only one signature on checks written for city business. She also admitted that while she was treasurer of the Cross Point Baptist Church she devised a scheme to defraud the church of approximately $44,568. On December 30, 2011, she caused the church to electronically transfer approximately $2,536 to Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance to make a mortgage payment due on her daughter’s home. Sentencing is set for April 16.

She faces a maximum penalty of 30 years and a fine up to $1 million on the bank fraud count and a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the wire fraud count. Grissom commended the FBI and Assistant United States Attorney Mona Furst for their work on the case.

Former K-State Employee Guilty Of Embezzlement

A former employee at Kansas State University's biosecurity research institute has been sentenced to 60 days in federal prison for embezzling research funds.

The U.S. Attorney's office says 51-year-old Linda Miller must also pay $14,000 dollars in restitution under the sentence she received Friday.
She had pled guilty in October.

Miller worked from August 2007 to January 2013 at the institute on the Manhattan campus.

In her plea, Miller admitted altering three checks received by the institute and depositing the money into her personal bank account.

Former city clerk charged with embezzlement

A former city clerk for the city of Havana, Kan., was charged Monday with embezzling funds from the city and her church, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Diana L. Cox, 67, was charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud. A criminal information filed in U.S. District Court in Wichita alleges Cox stole approximately $14,658 from the city of Havana in August, 2011 while she was city clerk. The thefts took place after she falsely reported to Arvest Bank in Caney that the city had changed its policy to require only one signature on checks written for city business. The charges also allege she devised a scheme to steal more than $44,568 from Cross Point Baptist Church in Caney. She transferred money from church’s accounts to make her daughter’s mortgage payment.

If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on the bank fraud charge, and a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the wire fraud count.

Accused embezzler now charged with ripping off church in Kansas

A criminal charge against a woman in September got her employers thinking they might want to double-check their own bank account — a search that revealed they, too, were missing money.

Rachel Brooke McDonald, 34, was charged with a second count of theft in connection with $23,659 that turned up missing from the First United Methodist Church at 909 Tenth St. Her bond was set at $150,000 and she was being held in the Wichita County Jail Friday.
The charge came about after an investigation last year led to McDonald’s arrest on charges of taking more than $130,000 from YTO-USA when she was employed there as a bookkeeper, said Detective Chris Gay.
YTO-USA is a distribution center that operated out of a portion of the former Delphi plant on Interstate 44.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit:
A representative for the church alerted police on Jan. 15, that money was missing from the church. He said between July 13, 2009, and Aug. 31, 2009, a woman working as a business administrator may have fraudulently taken money.
The representative said McDonald wrote nine checks to herself for a total of about $17,000, took cash deposits, made one bank draft for about $350 to pay an AT&T phone bill and used a church-issued credit card for purchases totaling about $3,300.
“Neither the checks nor the credit card charges were authorized by the church,” the affidavit states.
McDonald was arrested Thursday by the detective who investigated the case, Officer Cory Whited.
In McDonald’s first case, the alleged thefts occurred between May 2008 and June 2009. An October 2009 Matter of Record listing in the Times Record News shows McDonald’s residence was foreclosed on and lists an amount of $204,900.
Talking in general about embezzlement-type crimes, Gay said it is not unusual for there to be repeat offenders with this type of crime. “This is typical. A lot of times, if the offender hasn’t learned their lesson or faced any consequences for it, they will continue. It’s habitual. It’s mental.”
He noted the case in which a woman stole from the Wichita Falls Wildcats hockey team. It was her third theft charge.
These aren’t people who are using the money to make ends meet, to keep the lights on or the water running. They are doing it to fuel a habit or a lifestyle that is beyond their means,” Gay said.
To avoid becoming a victim of this kind, Gay said there are a couple of steps employers can take. One of the most important steps is getting a background check or contacting a law enforcement agency.
“A lot of these employers won’t check,” he said, “and (criminals) may not put it on the application.”
Another step that can help avoid embezzlement is to maintain a system of checks and balances over the finances.
“They need to have more than one or two people keeping an eye on the money,” he said. Even requiring two signatures does not deter all thieves. “If they are going to forge one, what makes you think they are not going to forge two.”

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