More than $18,000 has been returned to a Parker County church after an embezzlement scandal.
Janet Shelley Walker, 63, was the church’s secretary before her termination. According to the Parker County District Attorney’s Office, Walker was convicted on June 14 of theft from a nonprofit organization.
The church received a check for $18,061 for the recovered embezzled funds from Jeff Swain, Parker County district attorney. He used asset forfeiture from Walker’s bank account to recover the funds, said the district attorney’s office.
The church’s new pastor had noticed irregularities in the church’s checking account and reported it, thus leading to the discovery of Walker’s theft.
The pastor realized that Walker had written checks from the church to pay her personal bills for years.
“In the investigation, it was revealed that Ms. Walker was in charge of paying the church’s bills and had also been paying her own bills, including her mortgage, for quite some time,” said Swain. “During the investigation, she sold the home she was paying for with church funds, and we traced those funds to a bank in Hillsboro. I decided to use asset forfeiture law to seize the assets in her bank accounts so we could get the church their money back.”
Swain was a Parker County assistant district attorney at the time.
“I had to call the district attorney in Hill County and ask if he could swear me in down there as a special assistant district attorney so that I could prosecute the forfeiture case and get the church their money back,” Swain said.
“As far as I know,” he continued, “that was a first for anyone in our office. We have previously been sworn in to prosecute criminal cases in other counties when their prosecutors have had conflicts, but we haven’t ever done it to get restitution for a victim.”
Asset forfeiture proceedings are more commonly used to seize assets from drug dealers, Swain said. “However, under Texas law, they can also be used for felony cases involving theft, burglary, robbery, kidnapping, sexual assault, and several other offenses and can result in the seizure of the implements of those crimes and the financial proceeds gained from them.”
An investigation by Swain’s office and the Parker County sheriff’s office was key to finding all the stolen funds, Swain said.
“Between the grand jury subpoenas and search warrants that we issued, we obtained the bank records and business records we needed to prove both our criminal case and the asset forfeiture case,” he said.
“We were proud to be able to help one of our local churches who was victimized,” said Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier. “It’s unfortunate that some people are willing to steal from churches.”
“The church that was our victim, in this case, fell into a trap that is all too common for nonprofits, which is the belief that no one would steal from such an organization,” Swain said.
“There are several things other nonprofits could learn from this case to help them avoid similar problems,” Swain said. “Running a background check on all employees when they are first hired is essential. Ideally, that would be updated from time to time.”
In addition, he recommended, “At least annually, organizations should have their financial records audited or reviewed by someone other than the person who usually handles the finances. A small group may not be able to afford to have a full audit by a CPA, but they can at least get a second set of eyes on the books.”
The church requested to remain unnamed.
