Bookkeeper charged with taking $18,000 from Lake Worth church
A longtime Lake Worth church’s bookkeeper was arrested this week for reportedly stealing thousands of dollars from the congregation, Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office records show.
Jill Ellis, 48, admitted to withdrawing nearly $18,000 from the First Congregational United Church of Christ’s debit-card account from February through October 2016. She was arrested Sunday on a grand theft charge and released later that day from the Palm Beach County Jail, records show.
The Congregational church’s pastor met with the church treasurer in November regarding months of unpaid bills, he told sheriff ’s authorities. The treasurer checked the church bank accounts and noticed dozens of withdrawals, none of which she previously knew about.
In a meeting the next month, Ellis, a West Palm Beach resident, reportedly admitted to stealing money from the church’s debit-card account. She told church leaders she’d been secretly making withdrawals for months “to make ends meet.” She begged the leaders not to tell the church’s board of trustees and promised to repay the money. Instead, they made her write a resignation letter admitting the theft.
Ellis was paid $18 an hour to do daily bookkeeping, pay the bills, process paychecks and deposit weekly donations.
“We were heartbroken at the circumstances,” Pastor Jason Fairbanks said. “We thankfully have very good insurance, so what was taken was replaced.”
Records indicate Ellis had transferred money from the church’s general fund account to the debit-card account and withdrew thousands. Ellis was the only person with access to the ATM card.