Minnesota pastor charged with stealing church funds
A pastor was recently charged with seven counts of theft-by-swindle for fabricating expenses and stealing money from the Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, chapter of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church Synod, according to the Southwest Review-News.
The Inver Grove Heights Police Department first received a complaint about Leon Edwill Piepenbrink in August of last year, which led officials to launch an investigation.
Piepenbrink had access to two separate church funds, which he allegedly siphoned money from between 2007 and 2010. Although the total amount of funds embezzled is unclear, Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom estimated that it could be as much as $100,000.
"It's a significant sum of money we're alleging he misappropriated," Backstrom told the news source. "When someone steals over $50,000, it's considered a major economic crime. We've never seen a theft of this nature from a faith community."
If convicted, state guidelines dictate that Piepenbrink will serve two years in prison and pay back all of the money he stole, as well as fines.
Last year, a Dakota County woman was sentenced to 104 months in prison for her role in embezzling more than $200,000 from Sun Country Airlines. Kelly Dillon-Love managed payroll and accounts payable for the airline.
The Inver Grove Heights Police Department first received a complaint about Leon Edwill Piepenbrink in August of last year, which led officials to launch an investigation.
Piepenbrink had access to two separate church funds, which he allegedly siphoned money from between 2007 and 2010. Although the total amount of funds embezzled is unclear, Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom estimated that it could be as much as $100,000.
"It's a significant sum of money we're alleging he misappropriated," Backstrom told the news source. "When someone steals over $50,000, it's considered a major economic crime. We've never seen a theft of this nature from a faith community."
If convicted, state guidelines dictate that Piepenbrink will serve two years in prison and pay back all of the money he stole, as well as fines.
Last year, a Dakota County woman was sentenced to 104 months in prison for her role in embezzling more than $200,000 from Sun Country Airlines. Kelly Dillon-Love managed payroll and accounts payable for the airline.
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