Posted on 05/11/2016 6:22:47 PM PDT by Gamecock
KERSHAW COUNTY, SC An Elgin woman was arrested Monday after deputies say she admitted to stealing more than $97,000 in church funds and using the money to buy drugs on the streets of Columbia.
Debora Barfield, 53, was charged with breach of trust with fraudulent intent and forgery, according to a news release. Barfield served as church secretary for St. John’s United Methodist Church in Lugoff, and oversaw church funds. Investigators determined Barfield forged about 145 checks to steal the money.
“Drug abuse makes no distinction on who it destroys – black, white, rich, poor, young or old,” Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said.
Members of the finance committee became suspicious during the church’s annual financial audit. Barfield repeatedly failed to provide documents needed for the audit, according to Matthews.
On April 21, a Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office investigator began working with church officials, who told law enforcement that large sums of money could not be accounted for.
When the investigator interviewed Barfield, she admitted to taking the funds to buy drugs, Matthews said. Barfield turned herself in to law enforcement on Monday, and was released on a $25,000 bond.
“This incident should be a wake-up call for all churches where significant sums of money are collected weekly,” Matthews said. “It is important to trust those in charge of church funds, but it is imperative that a system be put in place to verify how those funds are accounted for in order to keep everyone honest.”
Barfield has no previous arrest record, but faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for her current charges.
It’s a Methodist Church. They would probably have just used the money to pay for gay weddings or to support globull warming.
I’m sorry, but we are going to have to start hanging thieves.
There are just too many of them and they aren’t afraid of prison.
Who’s the pastor?
The guy who sold her the stuff.
The pastor is a green haired lesbian.
What church has $97,000 lying around waiting for someone to use the money to buy narcotics?
Embezzlement is supposedly one of the few crimes that women commit more than men. I bet the drugs are some type of opioid, or started from prescription opioid use.
Freegards
Obama wastes more than that in time lost while trying to remember which hand to salute with when he goes on vacation.
[Obama’s legacy: 32 semesters of wasted golf time]
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