An Oklahoma City woman has been charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for allegedly embezzling more than $360,000 from the California church where she was an administrator for five years.
Chanell Easton, 36, is charged with stealing money from the food pantry and youth ministry at the unidentified Yuba City church from 2013 to 2018.
A federal indictment alleges that Easton opened five business credit card accounts in the church’s name without the church’s knowledge or authorization and used them, as well as a credit card issued to the church’s youth pastor, to make personal purchases at a hair salon, retail stores, online retailers, a vacation rental service, and concert venues, then used the church’s money to pay off the credit card balances.
She also is accused of transferring money directly from the church’s bank accounts into her own personal account to pay her credit card balance and cellphone bill and to buy new phones.
The indictment says Easton also wrote checks to others and to herself for personal expenses, forging the signatures of the church’s treasurer or the head volunteer of the church’s food pantry.
Easton was indicted by a federal grand jury May 19 and charged with 22 counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in a statement.
If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud, and a mandatory two-year sentence on each count of aggravated identity theft.
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