Posted by
Billy on Monday, November 29, 2010 12:04:50 PM
As a former administrator at a California church is scheduled to serve jail time
for embezzling nearly $1 million from the ministry, a lawyer says the incident
should be a warning sign to other churches.
Farrukh Ahmed of Ontario pleaded no contest on November 18 at the Chino
Superior Court after the former administrator at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills was
caught by a staff member with cash in his hand last December. Ahmed has been
free on bail since his arrest, but authorities estimate Ahmed embezzled around
$750,000 from the church between 2006 and 2009.
Brad Dacus, founder of
the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), believes full restitution
should be made to the church.
"When
individuals engage in this kind of criminal conduct, they should be prosecuted
to the full extent of the law," he contends. "This individual should be required
to repay every penny that [he has] wrongfully taken." (Former Muslim guilty
in church embezzlement)