TAMPA, Fla. — A woman who worked as a finance manager for a church in Tampa was sentenced for withdrawing over $875,000 from a church account and depositing it into her own.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Heather Darrey, 45, of Tampa, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for wire fraud.
The DOJ said that Darrey wrote fraudulent bank checks drawn against a church. Court documents do not name the church and refer to them as Church 1. The DOJ said that she embezzled $875,232 from the church and school in Tampa.
She was employed by the church as a records and finance manager.
Court records say that the fraud started in October 2023. Darrey used a scheme to create a fraudulent check of $30,000 from the church account and deposited it into her personal account.
Over the next five months, she used a similar process to continue transferring thousands of dollars to herself. Darrey used the money to pay her mortgage payment, car loans, boat loans, credit cards, and other expenses.
According to the DOJ, Darrey pled guilty on June 6. She was ordered to forfeit the $875,000 in addition to her prison sentence.
Florida unlicensed contractor faces a bond normally reserved for murderers and violent criminals.
