Church employee allegedly steals over $330,000 from Presbyterian church organization
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IDAHO FALLS — A 31-year-old church employee was arrested after she allegedly stole over $330,000 from a local Presbyterian organization.
Kaitlyn Fisher was charged with three counts of felony grand theft on May 3.
Court documents say on Oct. 14, 2022, an employee of the Presbytery of Kendall reported that Fisher, the administrative clerk, had been embezzling from church funds.
The Presbytery of Kendall is an organization that oversees the Presbyterian churches in the eastern Idaho area. According to a church newsletter obtained by EastIdahoNews.com, Fisher was the administrative executive assistant.
EastIdahoNews.com has attempted to contact the Presbytery of Kendall by phone and email for comment, and we are awaiting their response.
The reporting party told police the staff had not met for annual financial review meetings since the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, she repeatedly asked Fisher, who acted as a secretary and bookkeeper, for a summary of the church organization’s financials.
In October 2022, the board of trustees chair obtained the organization’s bank statements after asking the banks directly.
In the statements, the employees reportedly discovered “numerous unauthorized purchases and transfers out of both accounts via Venmo and Paypal as far back as 2020.”
The two employees confronted Fisher on Oct. 10, where she allegedly admitted to making the unauthorized transfers and purchases.
On Dec. 6, an Idaho Falls Police officer contacted Fisher about the allegations, and she denied stealing the money.
Over a week later, the officer contacted a criminal investigator with the Idaho State Tax Commission, who was able to issue and serve subpoenas for Fisher’s PayPal and Venmo account records.
In the transaction history, investigators discovered at least $338,458 worth of unauthorized purchases made from Fishers account allegedly using church funds between January 2019 and October 2022.
According to police reports, Fisher used the money to buy a red 2018 Honda 4-wheeler from Action Motor Sports, to pay The Yard Butler, a local landscape designer and debited between $280,890.01 and $281,474 from the church organization’s Wells Fargo account.
Venmo account records showed Fisher’s Venmo account was linked to the church’s Wells Fargo account as a payment method for transactions.
Transaction descriptions further show Fisher allegedly used the money to pay for child care, furniture, a dog, dog waste cleanup, food, gasoline, her mortgage, and supplies/labor to finish the basement of her new house.
Between July and October 2022 alone, Fisher allegedly spend at least $38,801.84 from the church’s Idaho Central Credit Union account.
A warrant was issued for Fisher’s arrest on May 3, and she was booked into the Bonneville County Jail on May 7. Her bail was set to $30,000. She posted bond and was released on the same day.
Fisher is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on May 29. If convicted, she could face up to 42 years in prison.
Though Fisher has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean she committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.