Church Bookkeeper Gets Prison for Stealing From Church

Thou shalt not steal. That's one of the "big 10", but this church bookkeeper didn't pay attention to that sermon:

NEWPORT BEACH – A former Irvine resident was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to stealing $320,000 from Newport Harbor Lutheran Church, prosecutors said.

Cheryl Granger, 45, bilked the 200-member church during her employment as office manager and bookkeeper by forging the signatures of church officials on checks she made payable to herself and a Nevada company she started with her husband.

Granger, who was ordered to pay $333,133 in restitution, used some of the cash to pay off credit card debt, authorities said.

The scheme took place during Granger's tenure from 2002 to 2006, unraveling when a new pastor took over and noticed an array of unpaid bills. About the same time, Granger resigned and moved to New Hampshire, where police arrested her in March.

She pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft and seven counts of forgery, all felonies. She also faced a sentencing enhancement for property damage exceeding $150,000.

Jim Miller, the church treasurer, said closure is still elusive because the congregation awaits Granger's repayment of the stolen money.

"Although somebody has gone to jail for it, that doesn't really solve our mission to use the money to spread God's word," Miller said. "Putting somebody behind bars is justice, but we really need to recover our money in order to feel good about what happened."

One of the things that churches insure for is embezzlement, though most limits aren't anywhere near high enough to cover $320,000. If they're ever going to see that money again, it'll probably have to come out of whatever funds the lady has.

Church financial management has changed pretty dramatically. Nowadays churches are encouraged to use dual-custody procedures when they handle their offerings, multiple signatures on checks over a nominal amount, and other financial protection measures worthy of a bank. It certainly hasn't always been that way.

My grandfather was the treasurer of the First Church of the Nazarene in Kansas City, MO for something like 40 years. He would bag up the offering and take it home with him every Sunday, count it using an old hand-cranked desk adding machine, and prepare the deposit for the bank. The only time he ever took anything out of the offering was when he found foreign coins. He'd take them out, but replace them with a U.S. equivalent and then send the foreign coins to me. I had quite a collection (until it was stolen by some lowlife who broke into my house).

Any church that does that today would get slammed by their insurer (and probably by their board if they have any business people or bankers). It's a different world.