Financial Crime News 05/14/2023

(May 11) Wisconsin Woman Pleads Guilty To Stealing $30K From Congregation | Milwaukee, WI

A woman who stole around $30,000 from a church in Wisconsin pleaded guilty to theft and will serve four days in the House of Correction and pay a fine to the church she stole from.

Mary Moton, a 62-year-old resident of Milwaukee and former employee at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, pleaded guilty last week to the charge of theft from a business setting, reported Fox 6 News Milwaukee on Wednesday.

While Moton also faced an additional count of forgery, that count was dismissed. Authorities estimate that she embezzled more than $30,000 from the church.

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(May 9) Officials: Roughly $400K Missing From Downtown Fort Wayne Church | Fort Wayne, IN

Federal authorities are investigating what happened to roughly $400,000 of funds that went missing from First Presbyterian Church in downtown Fort Wayne, according to recent letters church officials sent to parishioners.

The letters, obtained by WANE 15, say the money was likely misappropriated over an extended period of time by someone no longer working at the church, which is located at 300 West Wayne Street across from the Main Branch of the Allen County Library.

No charges have been filed in connection with the missing funds thus far.

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(May 5) Church Leader Steals Over $100,000 — And Buys Lottery Tickets Daily, PA Officials Say

The leader of a church group reportedly secretly stole over $100,000 from the organization, spending much of it on lottery tickets, Pennsylvania officials said.

 The coffers of the Youghiogheny Western Baptist Association, a consortium of 27 churches, were entirely emptied over the course of several years by the chairperson, according to a May 4 news conference by the Fayette County District Attorney. The chairperson, a woman from Uniontown, leveraged her role to gain complete control of the organization’s finances, officials said.

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(May 5) Bishop Lamor Whitehead Accused Of Deed Theft At Brooklyn Church He Evicted

Embattled Bishop Lamor Whitehead filed false paperwork to claim possession of a church building whose congregation he then evicted, according to a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Friday.

The property in question, a nondescript low-slung building on Foster Avenue in East Flatbush, had served for nearly a decade as the house of worship for Glory of God Global Ministry before Whitehead changed the locks and kicked out the congregation of about 200 worshippers last December.

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(May 5) Accused Uniontown Treasurer Facing New Charges Of Stealing From Church Group | Fayette County

Uniontown’s elected treasurer is already facing charges of stealing more than $106,000 in taxpayer funds. On Thursday, she was charged with taking an even larger amount from a regional church organization where she was a trustee, according to prosecutors.

Fayette County District Attorney Richard Bower announced more than 30 charges of forgery along with theft by unlawful deception, receiving stolen property and related charges against Antoinette L. Hodge, 53, of Uniontown, who is currently running for reelection to her position as the city’s treasurer.

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