Local woman accepts plea deal after embezzling money from church

An Idaho Falls woman has accepted a plea deal after she was arrested for grand theft, tax evasion and perjury in an investigation of embezzlement from a Presbyterian church.

Kaitlyn Fisher, 31, was originally charged with three felony counts of grand theft, four felony counts of tax evasion, four felony counts of perjury and four felony counts of computer crimes used to defraud.

These charges carried a potential punishment of 138 years, but due to the plea agreement, the state recommends three years fixed. She agreed to plead guilty to one count of grand theft, tax evasion and perjury in exchange for dropping the rest of the charges.

She is scheduled to appear before District Judge Bruce Pickett for her sentencing at 10 a.m. Sept. 18.

According to the probable cause affidavit, a report from a presbyter and clerk with the First Presbyterian Church at 325 Elm Street in Idaho Falls reported to the Idaho Falls Police Department of grand theft and embezzlement.

The presbyter told police that the church has not met its annual financial review since the COVID-19 pandemic and that during that period, she’d talk with their bookkeeper, Fisher, for a summary of the church’s finances. The presbyter said that in October 2022, she was able to review the church’s accounts with Wells Fargo and Idaho Central Credit Union bank statements with the aid of the church’s chair of the board of trustees.

After reviewing the account statements, the pair determined that numerous unauthorized purchases and transfers from the accounts via Venmo and Paypal have occurred since 2020.

The pair then confronted Fisher about this, but Fisher denied admitting to or stealing any money from the church.

In December 2022, the reporting officer contacted Fisher about the allegations, and again, she denied stealing any money from the church.

The officer contacted a criminal investigator with the Idaho State Tax Commission and the investigator conducted a forensic audit. The investigator served subpoenas for Fisher’s PayPal and Venmo financial records.

The officer received an itemized list of the unauthorized charges and transfers from the church’s bank accounts, including two charges for a local landscaping service. The first charge was $800 on June 30, 2022, and the second was $864.28 on Sept. 2, 2022.

The officer contacted the landscaping business’ office manager about the transactions and was provided with an address in Idaho Falls. The address belonged to Fisher.

The officer reviewed the forensic audits and determined that between January 2019 and October 2022, Fisher had stolen between $339,175 and $338,590.61 from the church’s Capital One, Wells Fargo and ICCU accounts. Between October 2019 and April 2020, Fisher made purchases or debits totaling between $18,898.76 and $18,899 from the church’s Capital One account.

Fisher also debited between $280,890.01 and $281,474 from the church’s Wells Fargo between May 2020 and September 2022. The majority of these came from 231 Wells Fargo charges for payments to Fisher’s Venmo account, for a total of $250,224.14.

The affidavit states that one transaction was the purchase of a new red 2018 Honda 4-wheeler for $5,308.60.

Fisher had also used Venmo, using the church’s account, to pay for child care, furniture, manicures, a dog, dog waste cleanup, food, gasoline and her mortgage.

From the church’s ICCU account, between July and October 2022, $38,801.84 and $38,802 were withdrawn by Fisher, where the charges stemmed from PayPal.