Posted on 07/23/2016 3:03:20 PM PDT by BBell
A woman who came to a Kenner church for help with a delinquent utility bill is now accused of stealing more than $19,000 from the church's coffers to pay for a car, her insurance, cable and other bills, according to authorities.
Shareafa Watkins, 27, of 3100 Phoenix St., Kenner, was arrested and booked Friday with identity theft valued over $1,000, illegal transfer of monetary funds and being a fugitive from another jurisdiction, according to Lt. Brian McGregor, spokesman for the Kenner Police Department.
-snip-
Detectives eventually determined that Watkins began illegally tapping the church's bank account in early 2015 after she received help paying a late Entergy bill, according to an arrest report. The church gave Watkins a check made out to the power company.
But Watkins took down the account and routing numbers from the check, and then used the information to pay other bills to the tune of about $19,475, an arrest report said. Those accounts included:
Sprint cellphone account: $3,253
Cox Cable: $1,135
Jefferson Parish Department of Water: $489
Entergy: $2,139
State Farm: $4,967
All State Insurance Company: $311
Santander Consumer USA (car payment): $7,181
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Shareafa?????, YOUR LOCAL MOSQUE WOULD HAVE HELPED YOU.
This woman should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. That said, the pastor and church staff need to pay far better attention to the church’s finances. They could and should have caught this after the first couple of months if they had been reconciling the bank statements.
She thought she would get away with it? How stupid can she be?
Hey Lady. Banks keep records of who pays who and for what.
How a girl spost to pay her lightricity note?
Lightricity is an urban word.
Under Sharia law they would cut her hand(s) off.
I’m guessing more like “ Obama stash” money...
Entitlement plain and simple.......generations now raised with that attitude.
Probably a big IF there.
Released on a $30k bond, yet she’s a fugitive from another jurisdiction? What’s up with that?!
They weren’t looking at their bank statements at all, for her to have passed multiple large forged checks. Scammers are always drawn to places with lax oversight of money, and that includes some churches in addition to nonprofits, charities and certain governmental offices.
Curious how the companies allowed her to run up the bills so high.
The churches should pay the bills directly instead of entrusting this skank with anything. Look at how much she is behind in EVERYTHING.
A great example of why our charitable donations, even at church, have dropped to nearly nothing. I’m sick of “giving” to unvetted causes, cheaters, liars, and those who generally vote against the very people who are paying ALL the freight.
I think this is the total amounts she paid to each of these companies over the period she was fleecing the Church.
Peeple who don't knows that are just ignant.
She probably has 3-4 kids and on welfare too.
Silly if you ax me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.