FL Church Employee Charged With Embezzling Over $500K
Financial secretary allegedly used church credit card to buy cruises, flights, sporting events, and hotel stays
Florida police have charged a church financial secretary with bilking her church out of nearly half a million dollars.
Melissa English (Rhoden)
On April 11, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) arrested Melissa Ganey English (Rhoden), 44, for allegedly embezzling funds from Amelia Baptist Church in Fernandina Beach, where she worked.
Court documents say English managed the church’s finances for about 11 years—the last five of which she reportedly embezzled.
In late 2024, two new church financial committee members joined the leadership team.
After going through the bank documents and records, one of the members noticed the bank funds were lower than they should be. Since English was in charge of all financial records for the church, the new members began looking through bank statements from a church credit card issued directly to English. They discovered several personal charges on that card, although the account was designated for church purposes only.
According to court documents, English used church resources to pay for personal expenses, including cruises, air travel, sporting events, and hotel stays. Investigators claim her actions were intentional and that English admitted to using the church’s funds for her benefit. The stolen funds exceeded the $100,000 threshold, making this a first-degree felony.
The documents say investigators uncovered the following unauthorized charges on the church credit card tied to English:
- 2019: Nearly $40,000 embezzled.
- 2020: Approximately $90,000 embezzled through unauthorized credit card charges, personal credit card payments, and extra payroll disbursements.
- 2021: Over $100,000 spent on Amazon purchases, SeaWorld tickets, footwear, hotel stays, airline tickets, and a helicopter tour over the Grand Canyon.
- 2022: Nearly $125,000 used for cruise lines, Airbnb rentals, concert tickets, and other items.
- 2023: Just over $123,000 fraudulently spent at Amazon, Walmart, and various hotels.
- 2024: Over $90,000 embezzled, including expenses for cruises, baseball tickets, and hotel accommodations.
The documents say that from 2019 through 2024, English embezzled $570,945.58.
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In a statement shared with Action News Jax, Amelia Baptist Church said English admitted to wrongdoing. The church immediately terminated her employment upon admission. Amelia Church added that they promptly reported the theft and fully cooperated with the investigation, confirming no involvement by other church members or staff.
“While the last few months have been incredibly hurtful and difficult, it would be easy to become distracted from our main mission as a church,” the church statement said. “Amelia Baptist Church remains committed to the values that make us a church family. We continue to work diligently to proclaim the good news of the Gospel, to see lives transformed by the love of Jesus and care for people. While events such as this could cause us either to feel despair or have a sense of superiority, the Bible is clear that we all have a sinful nature and thus we must approach this with humility: because apart from Christ we are all capable of much worse (Matthew 15:19); and hopefully, by placing our faith in Jesus we can be transformed (Romans 10:13).”
Since the investigation is still underway, Amelia Baptist Church is referring all other questions to its attorney and the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Why does MinistryWatch report on financial fraud in the church? We report on them because one in three churches will be victimized, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. We also report on them because these crimes have real victims and cost taxpayers and other stakeholders billions of dollars every year. Even small crimes in small churches have huge consequences. We also report on them to remind our readers that they do not have to be victims. There are steps you can take to prevent financial waste, fraud, and abuse in your church or ministry. To find out more, click here.
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