Pilfering in the Pews: What One Cagey Church Treasurer Taught Me

When the offering plate is passed in church on Sundays, most of us assume that our donations are going to be spent wisely. It is one of the last places one would suspect foul play. However, I quickly learned during my first fraud case that white-collar criminals rarely discriminate. Every stash of cash is a target.

Patricia Brown was the treasurer for a small church in a rural Kansas town.* She handled all the donation receipts and expenditures for the church with only limited oversight. At church board meetings, Brown continuously told the members that money was tight and even paying regular bills was difficult. As is typical in a small church, the members rallied and more appeals went out for donations to meet the needs.

Unfortunately, it was Brown – not low donations – that was causing the church financial woes. It was later discovered that Brown was using the donations for personal expenses rather than authorized purposes. Whenever cash was given, she would keep most of it and cover the theft with checks received from other donors. Brown would give the donors receipts with the full amount of the donation on the top copy, and then alter the church’s copy to a lower amount.