| For Immediate Release Case #: 10CF2349 January 27, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
FORMER BOOKKEEPER TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR STEALING OVER $129,000 FROM CHURCH BY WRITING 154 CHECKS TO HERSELF
SANTA ANA – A former bookkeeper for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Tustin will be arraigned tomorrow for stealing over $129,000 from the church accounts by writing 154 checks to herself. Elyse Marie Kennedy, 37, Santa Ana, is charged with 154 felony counts of forgery with sentencing enhancements and allegations for aggravated white collar crime over $100,000, loss over $100,000 and property loss over $65,000. She faces a sentence ranging from probation up to 107 years in state prison if convicted. Kennedy is being held on $30,000 bail and is scheduled for continued arraignment tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Between January 2007 and January 2009, Kennedy is accused of being entrusted by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church as bookkeeper to solely maintain their money accounts and financial records. Kennedy is accused stealing over $129,000 from the church by writing 154 checks to herself from the church’s bank accounts without the knowledge or consent of church authorities.
In January 2009, Kennedy is accused of taking the financial records from the church and suddenly failing to show up for work. Church officials obtained records from their bank, discovered that funds were missing from their accounts, and contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputy District Attorney Sean O’Brien of the White Collar Crime Team is prosecuting this case.
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