As a Florida woman prepares to be sentenced next week for embezzling nearly $900,000 from the parish where she worked, a retired IRS investigator says the case shines a spotlight on the need for parishes to implement measures to help detect and prevent theft.
In June, Heather Darrey pled guilty to embezzling hundreds of thousands from Christ the King parish in Tampa, where she had been the finance manager.
A sentencing memo in the case, filed in a US district court Friday, revealed that Darrey used the $875,000 she stole from the parish to help fund a lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of a boat, and vehicle, and the installation of a pickleball court at her house.