Priest stole $300K from church and sent some to sister to care for sick mom, feds say
A former Missouri priest has pleaded guilty after officials say he stole thousands from his church and sent some of the money to his sister.
Ignazio C. Medina, 72, pleaded guilty to transporting stolen property across state lines, according to a July 9 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.
McClatchy News reached out to Medina’s attorney for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Medina was a priest at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Wardsville from 2013 to 2021. In 2018, there were some “financial irregularities” at the church and the diocese found an unreported bank account, according to officials.
When Medina was asked to include the bank account in the parish’s annual report, he reported the account had a balance of $358,000 in 2020, authorities said.
In 2021, Medina was transferred to another parish and that’s when “it was discovered that he had emptied that bank account,” according to prosecutors.
“Medina had written a $100,000 check to his sister in Tucson, Arizona. The next day, he had also written a $200,000 check payable to himself,” officials said.
Some of the money in the account was used for church-related expenses, according to the release.
When Medina was confronted, he initially said the bank account was funded by donations that were not meant for the church but given by donors “for his own discretionary use.” However, donors who gave money denied donating for the priest’s personal use and said the money was intended for “parish purposes,” officials said.
One donor said he gave money for the school in memory of a friend who died.
Medina said he was refunding the money to the donors and that the $100,000 he sent to his sister was a refund of a donation she made, according to the release. However, his sister told investigators she was not a donor and that Medina said he was sending her the money to take care of their “ailing mother.”
“Fr. Medina remains permanently barred from holding any ecclesiastical office and from hearing confessions. He is also forbidden from celebrating or concelebrating Mass without permission from the Most Reverend W. Shawn McKnight, Bishop of Jefferson City,” a statement from the Diocese of Jefferson City said.
Medina faces up to 10 years in prison.
This story was originally published July 10, 2024 at 11:52 AM with the headline "Priest stole $300K from church and sent some to sister to care for sick mom, feds say."
