8 arrested for stealing over $260K in church donations from dozens of victims
Eight people have been arrested in connection with a church donation fraud scheme that took in more than $260,000 from multiple Florida congregations.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that its Economic Crimes Unit has arrested eight people in connection with the fraud affecting several congregations across the county and state.
Authorities allege the eight stole checks that congregants mailed and deposited them into their own bank accounts.
“Many of the deposits were made through mobile banking, allowing the activity to go largely undetected,” the sheriff’s office stated. “The scheme took advantage of the routine nature of church donations.”
“Parishioners believed their monthly contributions were reaching their intended churches, while the churches often had no immediate reason to suspect that individual checks were missing.”
Authorities have identified 66 victims in Manatee County with confirmed losses of more than $72,000. Victims outside the county have confirmed losses of nearly $194,000.
Suspects charged include Yucmercy Espinosa Obregon, Luis Miguel Sanchez Santos, Lisaida Castro Gonzalez, Ismery Ferrer Alonso, Luis Enrique Valdes Camejo, Dayanis Leon Hernandez, Duvier Hernandez Canizarez and Isidro Gonzalez Gomez.
Detectives also have arrest warrants for seven more suspects accused of taking part in the fraud. Authorities confirmed at least one of them is in Cuba.
The sheriff’s office said the charges include organized scheme to defraud, grand theft and criminal use of personal identification.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office worked with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office on the investigation. Officials are still working to identify additional victims.
Detective Rachael Fossaceca told Sarasota’s WWSB News that the suspects had no ties to the congregations they stole checks from.
“The suspects were not connected to the churches. They were not parishioners. They did not work for the church. They targeted the churches,” Fossaceca explained.
“It was basically a giant jigsaw puzzle that was scattered everywhere. As we were finding out things, more churches were being victimized. The number of victims grew.”
The investigation began last December, when Harvest United Methodist Church in Lakewood Ranch contacted authorities to report a suspicious drop in mail.
Members then questioned whether their donations were reaching the church. A multi-month investigation found that at least 17 local churches reported fraudulent activity.
