Former church secretary faces 280 years in prison for embezzling tithes via Cash App

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Wednesday, October 23, 2024

A former secretary and longtime member of a church in Louisa, Virginia, is now facing up to 280 years in prison after she was convicted Monday of 14 counts of embezzlement from the coffers of the house of worship.

A press statement from Louisa Commonwealth’s Attorney Rusty McGuire, shared on Facebook by the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office, did not identify the church, but it identified the former secretary as 64-year-old Brenda W. Ragland.

According to the statement, Ragland had worshiped and worked at the church for more than 20 years before it was discovered in early 2023 that she embezzled at least $670,000 from them.

Get Our Latest News for FREE

Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.

Subscribe

Authorities say the church was attempting to donate money to another local church to purchase a new building in early 2023 but couldn't locate Ragland to get a letter from their bank about available funds because she was traveling.

When church officials reached out to the bank, they discovered that their account didn't have enough funds to make their desired donation.

Immediately recognizing that something was wrong, the church contacted the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an investigation. They soon learned that not only was Ragland taking money from the church’s bank account, but she was also depositing tithes from members into her personal bank account using Cash App for several years.

Investigators were only able to examine seven years of bank records so the loss by the church could likely be higher.

“It is a sad day for the church. They put their faith in Mrs. Ragland to manage the church resources and she violated that faith by turning church resources into her personal piggy bank,” McGuire said. “We hope that Mrs. Ragland takes her restitution obligation serious when she is sentenced on January 27, 2025.”

Senior Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Megan Riordan, who worked on the case with McGuire, said she hoped the church will be able to recover from Ragland’s crime.

“Ragland wreaked financial havoc on the church that she was supposed to be helping,” Riordan said. “We hope that the church can financially recover and are thankful to the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office for their thorough investigation of this case.”