Minister charged with stealing from church

[moobu2]

LAKE CITY, Fla. -- Authorities say a minister has been arrested for stealing more than $250,000 from a Lake City church.

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office says 61-year-old Samuel Darin Taylor was arrested Tuesday and charged with money laundering, mortgage fraud, racketeering, conspiracy to commit grand theft and scheming with intent to defraud.

Detectives first began investigating Taylor last month after the First Assembly of God board and bookkeeper noticed accounting discrepancies.

Authorities are also looking for another suspect they believe was working with Taylor.

The minister was being held on $50,000 bail.

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[LuvNewcastle]

1. That's why churches should have

a treasurer and a board of elders or deacons to handle church funds. Putting that much control in the hands of one man is too great a temptation for some.

[charlie]

2. The church might have had those

This pastor was slick, though:

Detectives say Taylor, a former pastor of the church, forged documents to receive loans and mortgages from a local bank. He also opened several credit card accounts without approval from the church board.

Detectives say he used donated land as collateral to receive the loans.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/mostpopular/news-article.aspx?storyid=141687&provider=top

[LuvNewcastle]

3. He was slick all right.

The bank never should have allowed this to happen.

[LiberalFighter]

4. But he's a minister. A man of the cloth. God's voice.

Those ministers are all such wonderful people.

[kwassa]

5. Many of them are wonderful people.

and I don't think that many believe they are God's voice. Those that do should be avoided.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. No, in fact, the Episcopalians and Lutherans would weed out

any aspiring clergy person who claimed to be "God's voice."

If any developed such delusions later (and I'm speaking from my knowledge of an actual case), members of the parish would complain, and the bishop would suspend any such priest from duties and refer him or her for psychiatric treatment, and if the person refused, that would be the end of their career in the Episcopal Church. (In the actual case that I'm talking about, the kicked-out priest went and founded his own free-lance Pentecostal church.)

[charlie]

7. Went from Episcopalian to Pentecostal

That's like going from lite jazz to death metal. Sounds like the guy never really belonged.

[moobu2]

8. Pastor Pleads Guilty to Stealing From Sayre Church

SAYRE, Oklahoma -- A Sayre preacher accused of stealing money from his congregation has pleaded guilty to embezzlement.

Tim Zeman is accused of stealing at least $100,000 from the Church of the Nazarene's building fund and also mortgaging the church parsonage.

Church members said he left the church financially devastated, and they had no choice but to close it.

Zeman's sentencing is set for August 18.



LINK

[SidneyCarton]

9. I've been a financial clerk in my congregation twice.

We are never allowed to handle the tithes alone, and are audited either twice or quarterly (I forget) Stealing means excommunication.