09 February 2023- The former treasurer for the Christ United Methodist Church in Waynesboro is charged with multiple felonies after allegedly stealing over $234,000 in church funds over the course of four years. Maria Ann Meyers is charged with felony theft, felony forgery, and misdemeanor tampering with records. She is behind bars on $25,000 bail.
On September 21st of 2022, Waynesboro PD were dispatched to the Christ United Methodist Church to speak with multiple members of church staff about a discovery of fraud. Police talked to the current two treasurers with the church who allegedly showed multiple questionable receipts for transactions for charges to Mastercard, Geico, and Aspen Dental. Over the course of the investigation, it was revealed that multiple checks were written out to Maria Myers, totaling $1,800. On October 6th, a phone call was placed to the WPD regarding an email the church received from Maria Myers. Myers had been terminated from her position with the church a few weeks before. In the email, Myers allegedly admitted to the crimes and advised she wanted to pay the church back.
A full audit was conducted for the church, showing that over the course of four years since Myers first started working as an employee for them, $234,372.72 were used unlawfully.
Myers was later interviewed by WPD. In the interview, Myers allegedly admitted to the police that it had started by accident but after multiple family medical bills the funds were diverted to her account.
Myers is behind bars on $25,000 bail. Her preliminary hearing is set for February 21st.
Sources: Docket Number: MJ-39305-CR-0000022-2023, Incident Number: WPD-202208712
