Nearly six months after a church near Macon, Georgia, closed its doors due to financial insolvency, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman for stealing over $500,000 from the church over the course of a few years.
Riverside United Methodist Church in Macon, Georgia / Insert of Tiffany Watson
Tiffany Alyan Watson, 39, worked as the administrator for Riverside United Methodist Church and its associated childcare center. She has been arrested for misappropriateing over half a million dollars of church funds for personal use in a “criminal enterprise” between 2022 and 2025. Her felony charges include racketeering (RICO), money laundering, and fiduciary theft.
Officers launched an investigation after the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church alerted the sheriff’s office to suspicious and fraudulent activity. The Conference had hired a forensic accountant after newly appointed leadership flagged concerns about “financial status and debt.”
The South Georgia Conference ultimately decided the loss of funds rendered the nearly 70-year-old church and its affiliated child care center insolvent, leading to an abrupt closure that left longtime members stunned.
Former member, John Ricketson, told local news 13WMAZ: “It shocked us…They locked it, changed the lock on Friday, locked us out. We could not get in the building to have service.”
After the closure, the South Georgia Conference released a statement. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the closure of Riverside United Methodist Church. A church closure is always painful, and the grief is compounded by the immediate nature of this closure,” it said.
The Riverside Children’s Center, which Watson led, posted on social media: “The United Methodist Conference has decided to permanently close the center and the church with no explanation…we apologize for the sudden news.”
Over the next several months, officers discovered that between 2022 and 2025, “over five hundred thousand dollars was taken from the church without proper authority and converted to personal use.”
Investigators identified Watson as a person of interest and connected her with several of the thefts. She was arrested April 7, 2026, and is being held without bond. Other additional charges are currently under investigation.
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Practical tips for preventing financial fraud
Financial fraud in faith-based organizations has become a $62-billion global problem consuming roughly 6.6% of all charitable giving worldwide.
As previously reported by MinistryWatch, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability’s 9 Essentials for Avoiding Church Fraud and firms like Good Shepherd Bookkeeping Solutions provide practical prevention strategies and instruction to understand how financial fraud happens in faith-based organizations.
Key strategies include separating financial duties and ensuring that different individuals collect, count, and deposit funds to create natural accountability and prevent misappropriation. Using dual-control counting teams in secure, recorded environments prevents individual misconduct, while immediate “For Deposit Only” check-stamping mitigates unauthorized endorsements.
As digital giving grows, leadership should vet third-party platforms for robust encryption and regularly compare digital reports with bank statements. Ultimately, a culture of transparency through regular audits and clear financial reporting turns stewardship from a routine task into a shared, protected commitment that honors the congregation’s trust.
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.