BishopAccountability.org
	Finance Director at St. Paul Church Charged with Embezzling $37,000 By Emily Gurnon Emily Gurnon January 21, 2009 http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_11507316?nclick_check=1 Family was having financial trouble, priest told cops A former finance director for the Church of St. Bernard in St. Paul has been charged with embezzling $37,000 from church deposits and covering her tracks by moving money from church reserve accounts. Debra Ann Thompson, 44, of St. Paul, was hired in 2006 as a bookkeeper and was promoted the following year to director of business and finance, according to a complaint filed Thursday by the Ramsey County attorney's office. Among her duties: delivering church deposits to the bank. Church officials got wind of a problem in April 2008, when a trustee informed the priest that the church could not make its payroll because it didn't have enough money in its account. The criminal complaint charging Thompson with felony theft tells the rest of the story this way: Thompson initially said she had made a mistake, forgot to enter a previous payroll and was trying to correct the error. She denied stealing money. But after meeting with her, the priest checked the operating and reserve accounts and learned that a "significant amount" of money was missing from each. The church hired independent accountants who found that, beginning in July 2007, the deposit and bank statements did not match. They believed Thompson was writing deposit slips that differed from the bookkeeping slips — then taking the difference out in cash before she put money in the bank. Thompson then concealed the thefts by transferring money from the church's reserve accounts, the accountants alleged. On May 6, 2008 — six days after the initial problem was uncovered — Thompson resigned via e-mail. The priest told police he knew Thompson's family had been having financial trouble, with money owed to the IRS, unpaid medical bills and even a possible shut-off of utilities. But he also said the family had taken a trip to Disney World in December 2007. An audit disclosed that $37,000 was missing from church deposits from March 2007 to April 30, 2008. When questioned by police, Thompson said her family owed $12,000 to the IRS, more than $15,000 to creditors and a large amount in medical bills. She admitted she altered deposit slips and took money for herself because of her financial turmoil but believed the total amount stolen was no more than $10,000. She said that most of the money she took went toward bills or mortgage payments, that her house was in foreclosure and that she had no food. She said she would ask the church for forgiveness and would repay the money if she could. A message left for Thompson was not immediately returned Tuesday. The church is at 1160 Woodbridge St. in the city's North End. Emily Gurnon can be reached at 651-228-5522 or egurnon@pioneerpress.com
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