Finance Director in Texas Indicted for Stealing From the Church She Served
A former church finance director for Lakeside Baptist Church was indicted by a Texas grand jury for theft of property from the church over a four-year period.
Donna Drake / LinkedIn profile
Donna Corry Drake was accused of stealing property worth between $30,000 and $150,000, a third-degree felony. However, because it was committed against a non-profit organization, Texas law increases it to a second-degree felony. If she is convicted, Drake would serve a prison term of between two and 20 years. She was released on a $10,000 bond.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Drake served as the church’s finance director and as the children’s ministry director since 2003.
Lakeside Baptist Church, located in the small East Texas town of Canton, confirmed to KLTV that Drake is no longer employed there.
The money was allegedly stolen from the church between October 1, 2018 and September 15, 2022.
Church embezzlement is a worldwide problem. Todd Johnson, co-director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, estimates the problem could rise to a cost of $170 billion in the year 2050 if current trends continue.
In just the last few weeks, MinistryWatch has reported on a church secretary convicted of stealing over $200,000 from First Baptist Church in Foley, Alabama, and a church business manager in Indianapolis who embezzled almost $600,000 from St. Matthew Catholic Church and School.
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AG Financial, a firm that serves churches and ministries, suggests cash management procedures and internal controls that churches can use to protect themselves against fraud and theft.
They encourage practices like having the bank reconciliation carried out by someone not authorized to sign checks, requiring two signatures on checks, having a purchase approval process, and rotating money counters each week.
According to AG Financial, most church embezzlement crimes occur over years—seven years on average—and involve small sums of money stolen intermittently.
Churches who join the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability have access to checklists and other resources to help prevent financial fraud.
Lakeside Baptist Church did not respond to a request for comment before time of publication.
