Accountant Accused Of Embezzling Millions From Megachurch

How do you steal from the Lord’s house??

Accountant Accused Of Embezzling Millions From Megachurch

The former accountant for the Agape Family Worship Center has been indicted for embezzling more than $4 million from the church over a period of seven years, church officials said today.

Via NJ News reports:

Donald Gridiron, Jr., a certified public accountant licensed in California, was arrested in Los Angeles Tuesday, according to a statement from the church.

The thefts were hidden in 900 separate transactions in which Gridiron would write checks to himself or arrange wire transfers, said Matthew Davis, a Texas-based attorney representing the church.

“Professionally, our former CPA violated the trust of the ministry,” said Lawrence Powell, Agape’s senior pastor. “And personally, I feel betrayed because this man used to be my friend. It hurts, but we serve a God who will get us through this.”

The church began in Powell’s parents’ garage 14 years ago and has since grown to a 6.5-acre campus that serves a congregation of nearly 5,000.

Gridiron had sole control over the church’s finances, Powell said.

The accountant, a California resident selected for the job in part because of his “connections with individuals in the religious community as well as his standing within that community,” earned a monthly salary of $5,500, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in federal court.

On top of his salary, he took more than $4.25 million in unauthorized payments, sending more than $2.75 million to his personal accounts in California, FBI Special Agent Abigail Weidner wrote in the complaint.

Gridiron, 50, spent those funds at casinos and a luxury car dealership and on mortgage payments, the complaint reads.

More than $1.5 million of the church’s money was allegedly transferred to the Western States Golf Association, a nonprofit organization for which Gridiron served as treasurer.

Gridiron has since resigned from that post and the association has been named as a co-defendant in a civil suit filed by the church, according to minutes from a November board meeting of the Valley View Golf Club in Las Vegas.

Davis said the golf association has been cooperative.

The theft was discovered in early March, after the church was contacted by an individual who reported receiving a bad check from them, Powell said.

The pastor said Gridiron had initially confessed to stealing $1.5 million, but subsequent investigation revealed the total to be more than $4 million.

After his confession, Gridiron was removed from handling the church’s finances and the church hired ministry accounting specialists for an audit, Powell said.

Gridiron has been charged with one count of wire fraud and is due for his first court appearance in New Jersey on Dec. 8, according to U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman. He was released on bail after court proceedings in California.

SMH!!!!!

Patti Sapone/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com