Financial Secretary Melissa Ganey English from the Amelia Baptist Church has been arrested for embezzling over $570K! I mean, who would have thought that someone responsible for handling the church’s money would do something like this? When it comes to money, trust no one!
This whole situation just goes to show that you can’t always trust the people in charge, no matter how reputable they may seem. It’s a sad reality, but it’s important to stay vigilant and make sure the people handling institutions’ finances are accountable.
Pastor Forrest Jones said the church spotted ‘financial irregularities’ in October 2024, and English was fired after she admitted to ‘wrongdoing’ and spending $300,000 of the church’s money, according to her arrest affidavit.
‘Whilst the last few months have been incredibly hurtful and difficult, it would be easy to become distracted from our main mission as a church,’ Jones said in a statement to News 4 Jax.
‘Amelia Baptist church remains committed to the values that make us a church family.’
The sheriff’s office said that after reviewing credit card statements from the church card issued directly to English.
Investigators discovered ‘hundreds of thousands of dollars had been used for her personal expenses.’
‘This is a significant breach of trust that has deeply impacted the church community,’ Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said in press release.
‘The suspect abused her position of trust for years, using church funds meant for ministry and community service to instead fund her personal lifestyle. Our office is committed to seeking justice for the victims of this extensive financial crime.’
Investigators discovered that in 2019, English had allegedly embezzled $40,000 from the church.
In 2020, she allegedly spent nearly $90,000 of the church’s money on unauthorized charges, personal credit card payments and additional payroll payments to herself, according to the sheriff’s office.
The following year, English spent more than $100,000 on Amazon purchases, SeaWorld tickets, Hey Dude Shoes, hotel stays, airline tickets and a helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon.
The amount of embezzled funds only increased in 2022 after English spent $125,000 on cruise lines, Airbnb rentals, concert tickets and more.
In 2023, $123,000 was allegedly used to purchase personal items on Amazon, hotel rooms and Walmart.
In 2024, English spent $90,000 on cruise lines, baseball tickets, hotels and continued adding additional payroll payments.
Hopefully, they’ll be able to recover some of the stolen money and bring justice to Melissa Ganey English. It’s just a shame that something like this had to happen in the first place.
