Former church bookkeeper sentenced
A New Geneva woman who pleaded no contest to accusations she stole nearly $90,000 from a Uniontown church will spend 6 months under house arrest, followed by a period of intermediate punishment. Tina Marie Loring, 26, was charged with theft by deception, receiving stolen property and theft by unlawful taking after she wrote a series of checks to herself while acting as the bookkeeper for St. George Maronite Catholic Church in Uniontown, according to Uniontown police.
Uniontown police Detective Jason A. Cox said church officials discovered the checks and then hired an accounting firm to conduct an audit of church accounts.
The firm found 159 checks made payable to cash and endorsed by Loring between Jan. 1, 2002, and Feb. 28, 2005. An additional 13 checks were found in 2001.
The checks totaled $87,764, according to court records.
Loring told police that she used the stolen money to pay off credit card debits that her husband didn’t know about and also to provide for her children.
Fayette County Judge Steve P. Leskinen on Wednesday sentenced Loring to the term of house arrest and also ordered her to repay the money to the church.
Loring’s attorney said restitution payments are being arranged through Catholic Mutual Insurance.