Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Imagine, If You Can, Someone Taking Advantage of a Lack of Oversight at a Roman Catholic Archdiocese

Hard to believe, right?! Well, a "quiet unassuming woman" named Anita Collins spent the last eight years stealing $1 million from the Archdiocese of New York. Funny story! Ms. Collins has been known to have sticky fingers in the past, pleading guilty to grand larceny in 1999 and a misdemeanor charge in 1986. How did Church officials miss this you ask? The lack of oversight (i.e. Ms. Collins did not undergo a background check) and, yes, internal controls:

Ms. Collins used her position to carry out a sophisticated fraud that consisted in part of billing the archdiocese for nonexistent services and channeling the money into accounts she controlled. Because checks of $2,500 or less did not require approval from a supervisor, Ms. Collins kept the payments just under that amount, issuing over 450 such checks to herself over seven years, according to the official, Adam Kaufmann, the chief of investigations for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr. “Every entity has controls in place to try to protect themselves, and the sad thing is that if you’ve got a corrupt employee they’ll find a way around the controls,” Mr. Kaufmann added. Most of the money, he said in an e-mail, was spent on mortgage payments and on “a lifestyle that was not extravagant but was far beyond her lawful means.”

Setting aside the control environment, what exactly is wrong with "a lifestyle that was not extravagant"? Can this really be considered a crime? Sure the money wasn't hers, but if there's no evidence of Sue Sachdeva-esque shopping sprees can't this be swept under the rug? I mean, the Catholic Church has been screwing people for years and nobody's asking for anything back.

Bookkeeper Accused of Stealing $1 Million From Archdiocese [NYT]

Latest Accounting Jobs--Apply Now:

Have something to add to this story? Give us a shout by email, Twitter, or text/call the tipline at 202-505-8885. As always, all tips are anonymous.

Comments are closed.

Related articles

cat on a dumpster

Just Be Glad You Didn’t Have FTX As a Client

Not long after the November collapse of crypto exchange FTX one of the first questions asked was, naturally, “where were the auditors?” (Francine McKenna answers that question here on CoinDesk) In the weeks that followed the FTX implosion, firms that once bragged about their crypto practices quietly shuttered them and walked away and the once […]

Your Naughty IRS Employee of the Day

Deena Vang Lee of Fresno, CA, was indicted in April 2019 and charged with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent tax returns, and making and subscribing false and fraudulent tax returns. She was accused of preparing family and friends’ returns for a fee that […]