Woman sentenced for using Northern California church funds to pay credit cards, phone bill, personal expenses

(FOX40.COM) — The U.S. Dept. of Justice announced the sentencing of a 38-year-old woman from Oklahoma for stealing nearly $400,000 from when she administered a church in Northern California .

According to court documents, the attorney’s office said the woman, who worked as the church administrator in Yuba City, stole over $360,000 from the church, including from its food pantry and youth ministry, during a years-long embezzlement scheme.

Additionally, court documents state the woman transferred money directly from the church’s bank accounts to her account, paid down her personal credit card balance, and paid her cellphone provider for her bills and new phones.

“[The suspect] also stole money from the church by writing checks to others for personal expenses and by writing checks to herself, on which she forged the signatures of the church’s treasurer or the head volunteer of the church’s food pantry,” a news release from the DOJ reads.

The agency said the suspect used credit cards associated with the church to make personal purchases, including visits to the hair salon, retail stores, online retailers, a vacation rental service, buying VIP concert tickets, and then paying off the resulting balance with the church’s money.

“One of the credit cards used during her scheme belonged to the church’s youth minister, and used his identity to make thousands of dollars in unauthorized personal purchases on Zappos.com,” officials said.

The suspect had pleaded guilty to 22 counts of wire fraud in October of last year and was found guilty of two counts of aggravated identity theft after a bench trial in early 2024.

There will be a hearing on Nov. 19 to determine restitution.

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