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Woman Steals Over Half Million Dollars From Her Church for Wedding And Other Things

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Now we know trying to pay for a nice wedding can put a big dent in the pocketbook, and a New Jersey woman has found out the hard way that you just don’t go stealing from the church to help fund your big day, and other personal needs.

43-year old Taisha D. Smith-DeJoseph, faces embezzlement charges after she allegedly managed to swipe hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars from Saint Paul Baptist Church while serving as a volunteer secretary. 😮 #Reallygurrrl??

As overseer of the church’s finances, police say she pocketed a whopping $561,777, and used it to pay her car notes, rent, credit card, cell & phone bills … PLUS, Smith-DeJoseph supposedly also made hundreds of online purchases — including more than $266,000 through PayPal and more than $22,000 on Amazon — and used some funds to pay for her wedding venue.

The church’s board of trustees apparently noticed something fishy back in June.  After an investigation, it was discovered that homegirl had been up to her dirty deeds for about 5 years.  And, CBS News reports that she covered it all up by fabricated monthly statements and issued payroll and supply reimbursement checks to herself.

Pastor, Rev. Fred Jackson told CBS News, “People put their hard-earned money in the church and really expected for it to be taken care of. It’s very hurtful for the entire congregation and we’ve been going through it for several months now, and what else can I say? It was devastating.”

Read more here.


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