Payback Time for Woman Who Stole from Church

  • Thread starter Thread starter mdgspencer
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mdgspencer said:
A parish bookkeeper stole $306,000 over more that 5 years, using many devices to steal it, has been put in jail for 14 months. Her activities were uncovered when the parish priest of the parish in Newfoundland, Canada, tracked a check he signed to pay a phone bill, and found the money went to the bookkeeper, not the phone company.
see www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2015-02-02/article-4028716/Payback-time-for-woman-who-stole-from-church/1
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Sixty one large per year - pretty sizeable bonus…:rolleyes:

It would behoove parishes to do an outside audit periodically. Or as Reagan said, “Trust. But verify.”
 
otjm said:
Sixty one large per year - pretty sizeable bonus…:rolleyes:

It would behoove parishes to do an outside audit periodically. Or as Reagan said, “Trust. But verify.”
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In our Parish the Archdiocese does an audit and I also believe there is an outside auditor that audits the Archdiocese! I know we have very specific rules and procedures for handling money. Checks have to be approved by someone other than the person signing the check. I know we’ve changed our procedures after these audits.Then at the end of the year they go through everything again. I wonder if this was a small parish or the Archdiocese doesn’t have the same requirements.

Unfortunately it’s often charities and churches that lose funds to embezzlment. Many are operating on thin budgets and money for internal controls, audits and checks and balances isn’t available.
 
I attend this parish at 7 pm when I can’t make it to 11 am Mass at my regular church. What is very upsetting is that it has always been known as a POOR parish, compared to many, and it tarnishes the reputation of the Catholic Church on this small island, as if we need something ELSE (on top of sexual abuse cases a few years ago) to feel judged by ‘mainstream media.’
 
LisaA said:
In our Parish the Archdiocese does an audit and I also believe there is an outside auditor that audits the Archdiocese! I know we have very specific rules and procedures for handling money. Checks have to be approved by someone other than the person signing the check. I know we’ve changed our procedures after these audits.Then at the end of the year they go through everything again. I wonder if this was a small parish or the Archdiocese doesn’t have the same requirements.

Unfortunately it’s often charities and churches that lose funds to embezzlment. Many are operating on thin budgets and money for internal controls, audits and checks and balances isn’t available.
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Our diocese requires us to send them a financial financial report each year but I know we haven’t had an audit or review done in the 15 years that I’ve been involved with the finances. The diocese is audited every year.
 
mdgspencer said:
A parish bookkeeper stole $306,000 over more that 5 years, using many devices to steal it, has been put in jail for 14 months. Her activities were uncovered when the parish priest of the parish in Newfoundland, Canada, tracked a check he signed to pay a phone bill, and found the money went to the bookkeeper, not the phone company.
see www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2015-02-02/article-4028716/Payback-time-for-woman-who-stole-from-church/1
Click to expand...
She got off too easy.
 
Phemie said:
Our diocese requires us to send them a financial financial report each year but I know we haven’t had an audit or review done in the 15 years that I’ve been involved with the finances. The diocese is audited every year.
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That’s asking for trouble in my opinion. Maybe your Diocese doesn’t have the same requirements as does ours. You can see how the same lax approach allowed this woman to embezzle money for many years. There have been other similar stories where money disappeared because of a lack of oversight. I also heard that the Francisans have lost most of their assets due to poor investments and unethical people.

Honestly a lot of money goes in and out of even a small parish. I imagine your Pastor and staff are all honest but as a CPA that kind of story horrifies me.
 
LisaA said:
That’s asking for trouble in my opinion. Maybe your Diocese doesn’t have the same requirements as does ours. You can see how the same lax approach allowed this woman to embezzle money for many years. There have been other similar stories where money disappeared because of a lack of oversight. I also heard that the Francisans have lost most of their assets due to poor investments and unethical people.

Honestly a lot of money goes in and out of even a small parish. I imagine your Pastor and staff are all honest but as a CPA that kind of story horrifies me.
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Agreed. Even if they can’t afford an audit, the parish/diocese could have other procedures performed which could walk through the internal controls to at least help out some.

I’m betting for a loss this big, in a poor parish, there were some GLARING lack of internal controls. Simple changes by the parish or pastor could have probably prevented a LARGE portion of this loss, and caught it sooner.
 
zz912 said:
Agreed. Even if they can’t afford an audit, the parish/diocese could have other procedures performed which could walk through the internal controls to at least help out some.

I’m betting for a loss this big, in a poor parish, there were some GLARING lack of internal controls. Simple changes by the parish or pastor could have probably prevented a LARGE portion of this loss, and caught it sooner.
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I’m still trying to figure out how it could happen. There obviously was very poor oversight.

When I worked at the parish I wrote all the cheques (didn’t sign them) and no cheque got written unless there was an accompanying invoice. I kept my own records and I knew where the money was going even if no other person in the parish did (it seems that people really didn’t care because not once in the 11 years I worked there did anyone ask a question about the annual financial report). We had a bookkeeping firm to do our books. I always made sure our my results and theirs matched.
 
It’s been a pretty tough year for St Patrick’s in St John’s. I’m sure this current case is like a one-two punch for the parishioners that remain at St Pat’s. Father Wayne Dohey was suspended from service because of a sexual relationship he had with a 14 year old girl between 96-00. Father Wayne will not be charged because of a technicality but I’m sure that does little to restore confidence in the parish.

cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/st-patrick-s-priest-wayne-dohey-won-t-be-charged-archbishop-1.2646959

thetelegram.com/Blog-Article/b/11183/Give-me-a-polygraph

I have to wonder if the bookkeeper released dirt on Father Wayne in retaliation for him ratting her out.
 
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