BENTONVILLE — More than $36,000 was discovered missing through an audit of the financial records of Twelve Corners Baptist Church.
The former treasurer for Twelve Corners Baptist Church pleaded not guilty to stealing the thousands of dollars from the church and is scheduled to appear in an omnibus hearing at 8:30 a.m. July 14.
Catherine Spivey, 42, of Pea Ridge is charged with theft of property, a class B felony punishable with a prison sentence ranging from five to 20 years. She pleaded not guilty during an arraignment before Circuit Judge David Clinger on Monday, May 20.
Spivey was arrested April 13.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Benton County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jeff Robbins responded to a call from the rural Pea Ridge church about a report Spivey had taken money from the church for her personal use. It was suspected the thefts had been happening since Spivey was hired in 2006.
Pastor Rick Booyer told Geovanni Serrano, an investigator with the Sheriff’s Office, at the beginning of the year he noticed discrepancies with his retirement plan’s year-end report. Payments had not been made on the plan, but the church’s reports showed payments had been made, according to court documents. Booyer said he talked to Spivey about thediscrepancies and she told him she would take care of the matter, according to court documents.
The affidavit claims Booyer and another church member began monitoring the monthly reports closely after that.
Booyer reported in March he received an insufficient funds notice from his bank. He asked Spivey about it and she said she would take care of it, according to court documents. Booyer also reported in April several discrepancies were noted in a monthly report Spivey provided church members, the affidavit states.
Spivey and her husband met with Booyer on April 4 where she confessed she had embezzled money from the church, the affidavit states. Spivey admitted to writing checks to herself and also to taking cash, but she could not remember how much money she had taken, according to court documents.
According to the documents, Spivey is accused of taking $1,329 in March, $906 in February and $2,004 in January. The church is checking its records to come up with the amount of money Spivey took since being hired in 2006, the affidavit states.
Spivey’s parents offered to repay the money, but Booyer told them the amount Spivey took was still unknown. Booyer also stated Spivey needed to take responsibility for her actions, according to court documents.
News, Pages 6 on 06/22/2011