A former priest at St. Stanislaus Parish reportedly stole $300,000 from the church's funds. Recently, the church court asked for an additional payment in order to cover the cost of the penalty of legal expenses.
Church Court
The investigation of the pastor's embezzlement started in 2022. A report from the Abc17 News stated that the church court had been put on hold since the FBI investigation was still active last year. The activities that Rev. Ignazio Medina took while serving as pastor of St. Stanislaus Parish from 2012 to 2021 are the subject of an ongoing investigation upon his retirement on July 1, 2022
As mentioned, when the former pastor traveled to the Our Lady of the Lake Parish in 2021, a staff member at the Stanislaus parish office discovered a previously unknown savings account that had been closed in June 2021.
Rev. Medina informed the church leaders that he had closed the banking account before the relocation and permitted them to examine the bank records. According to the church, the former pastor used the account to write a money order to himself for the amount of $200,000, as well as a check to a sibling who lives outside of the state for the amount of $100,000. In addition, the church leaders notified the authorities, which ultimately led to an inquiry by the FBI.
Following the disclosure of this information, Bishop Shawn McKnight reportedly implemented some interim financial safeguards at the lake parish. Moreover, the church retained the services of an impartial auditing firm, which revealed that the St. Stanislaus parish had made approximately $20,000 in unjustified cash withdrawals. In contrast, the Lake parish had avoided any mistakes.
As per the statement released by the diocese, Medina presented the church with three cashier's checks totaling $320,000. Two checks were given in January, and the third was given in June.
On the other hand, a recent report from the New Press Now stated that while serving as pastor of St. Stanislaus Parish in Wardsville, Indiana, Rev. Medina was found guilty on Thursday, Apr. 6, by a church court of transferring $300,000 worth of church funds into his personal accounts between the years 2012 and 2021.
Rev. Medina, who does not now occupy any office in the diocese, has made complete repayment of the assets taken without permission. The church court also handed down a fine of 26,000 dollars to reimburse the dioceses for the audit costs and legal representation. Furthermore, he did not challenge the decision in any way.
Embezzlement
Based on an article from AG Financial, a fraudulent act is one in which an individual or organization is purposefully misled for the purpose of financial benefit. It can occur at any institution, at any time, and by anyone, provided the necessary conditions are met. Embezzlement is the sort of fraud that occurs in churches the most frequently, even though there are many different kinds of fraud. It is the fraudulent appropriation of money or property for one's benefit. This dishonest behavior can affect any institution, including churches, without an automatic exemption.
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