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Guilty plea nets probation in church fraud
(by Sali McSherry - September 02, 2009)
Guilty plea nets probation in church fraud
By SALI McSHERRY
Ruth Lewis, of Solon, who pleaded guilty to charges in connection with defrauding St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Bentleyville of more than $63,000, was sentenced Aug. 26.
She received two years' probation and is required to pay restitution in the amount of $66,404, which includes the church's legal fees. She also was fined $10,000 and a $200 special assessment, according to U.S. Assistant Attorney Gregory Sasse.
The case was tried in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division with Judge John R. Adams presiding. A plea agreement was entered June 10. Mrs. Lewis' attorney is Virginia A. Davidson, of Calfee, Halter & Griswold.
The government acknowledged that Mrs. Lewis, 61, has serious health problems and that she would likely argue for a lower sentence, for which there is substantial basis, according to the plea agreement.
Mrs. Lewis had worked with children's ministries at the church and resigned in late 2007.
In return for her guilty pleas, the government agreed it wouldn't bring additional charges against the defendant for other crimes within the Northern District of Ohio.
Mrs. Lewis was formally charged with access device fraud and uttering forged securities of an organization, according to court documents. The statutory maximum is 15 years incarceration, a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment for each of the charges. At the time of the plea agreement, Mr. Sasse said it was unlikely that she would face those penalties.
In the plea agreement, the government said it had no reason to believe that Mrs. Lewis had not accepted responsibility for her actions, and, if there were no other determining factors in the future, the government would agree to reduce the sentence.
From around May 2005 through May 2007, Mrs. Lewis used a Key Bank account to make deposits by other individuals to one of St. Martin's bank accounts, according to court documents. Bank-deposit receipts were presented to church financial officers indicating the deposits represented her payments for her use of the church's credit card for personal purchases. By claiming the deposits were from her own account, she received credit for payments regarding her personal use of the church's credit card, when, in fact, the money deposited was from other people, according to court documents. The total amount was over $49,000.
Between June 2006 and July 2007, Mrs. Lewis forged the endorsements of the payees of five checks drawn on a church bank account at Huntington National Bank and deposited them into her checking account in an amount totaling $14,300, according to court records.
Church parishioners were informed of the situation last month, said church Junior Warden Robert Ware. While there was shock among congregants, the vestry had some previous knowledge through the investigation before the actual charges were filed, he said. In the past month, the congregation has had time to process what happened, he said.
Mr. Ware had said the church is in a period of renewal and "not looking in the rearview mirror." The church was reeling from two fires that caused extensive damage to the building in July 2007. The initial fire was ruled arson by the Ohio State fire marshal, who then passed the investigation on to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The case remains under investigation, according to the ATF.
Insurance paid a majority of the $3.2 million restoration of the church.
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