Former North Dakota church business manager charged with embezzling $600K to pay credit card bills
Quick Summary
- Carly Anne Tufté, former business manager of Faith Journey Lutheran Church, charged with embezzling $600,000.
- Tufté allegedly used unauthorized credit cards for personal expenses from April 2019 to December 2024.
- Church implemented new financial oversight measures following the discovery of the embezzlement.
The former business manager for a North Dakota church has been charged with embezzling around $600,000 from the house of worship.
Carly Anne Tufte, who worked at Faith Journey Lutheran Church of West Fargo, was indicted last week in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, Valley News Live reported.
The church hired Tufte as an administrative assistant in 2018, with her being promoted to business manager in 2019, where she served until resigning in December 2024.
According to federal prosecutors, Tufte opened an unauthorized credit card in April 2019 in both her name and the church’s name, and had it sent to her residence.
From April 2019 until her resignation in December 2024, Tufte allegedly charged nearly $640,000 for mostly non-church-related expenses, including vacation travel and new clothes.
Tufte also allegedly made unauthorized payments from church funds to pay the credit card balances, using approximately $600,000 from that account to pay her personal expenses.
To conceal the expenses, Tufte allegedly avoided providing bank statements to the church treasurer and created false journal entries so that the church looked like it had higher expenses.
Tufte resigned suddenly shortly after a new pastor expressed an intention to review the church's financial books, and subdequently discovered the existence of the credit card in January 2025.
She faces five counts of bank fraud and one count of access device, along with possible forfeiture of all property derived from funds traced to the bank fraud.
Faith Journey Lutheran Church issued a press release on the matter, noting that they were working alongside law enforcement as the investigation continues.
“We are deeply saddened and disappointed by this breach of trust,” said Pastor Sue Koesterman.
“Our congregation and community deserve transparency, integrity, and accountability, and we are committed to upholding those values. … We are grateful for the diligent efforts of our leadership and law enforcement.”
The church also explained that the embezzlement did not disrupt any of its ministry programs and that it had implemented new financial oversight measures to prevent similar theft.
