Woman accused of stealing $400K from church she worked at for vacations, dinners

WARE SHOALS, S.C. (WHNS/Gray News) - A South Carolina woman is facing charges after police say she stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from an area church.

According to the Ware Shoals Police Department, Shelley Strickland worked at the Ware Shoals First Baptist Church as a financial secretary and started taking money from the church in 2019 to pay for credit cards and personal expenses.

restaurant meals

Authorities said a pastor became aware of the issue when a new financial secretary was hired and reported discrepancies with the church’s finances.

Strickland took a total of $404,414 from multiple accounts including the church’s emergency fund, according to police.

Investigators reviewing records said the money went to restaurant meals, trips to the Smokey Mountains, resort rentals and family expenses.

Strickland also lives in a parsonage owned by the church.

Police said Strickland has worked as a financial secretary for several other churches.

According to the police department, it has contacted those churches and additional charges for Strickland are pending in Greenwood County.

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