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Church Investigations

Former Harvest CIO Charged with Felony Theft

Editor’s Note:  This article originally appeared at The Roys Report.  It is re-printed with permission.

 

Former Harvest Bible Chapel Chief Information Officer, Jeffery Parham, has been charged with four counts of felony theft for allegedly stealing more than $262,000 from Harvest between July 2017 and October 2018, according to a press release from Kane County State’s Attorney Joseph McMahon.

Church officials first reported the alleged theft in October 2018, after discovering alleged bookkeeping irregularities, the release said. Parham was then placed on administrative leave and fired months later.

In October 2019, Parham agreed to repay $100,000 to Harvest’s insurer, The Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co., to settle the company’s lawsuit against him. According to the lawsuit, the insurance company had paid $99,000 to Harvest for Parham’s alleged theft.

Parham’s case has been the topic of much speculation on social media, in large part because the Kane County investigation had not produced any charges for the past 17 months. Also, some, like former Harvest member, Jessica Hockett, have noted inconsistencies in Harvest’s public statements about Parham. (Hockett has posted a complete timeline of events here.)

Kane County Associate Judge Julia Yetter signed a warrant for Parham’s arrest and set his bail at $50,000, the press release said. It added that Bourbonnais, IL, police  took Parham into custody yesterday and transported him to the Elgin Police Department. There, he was booked, posted $5,000 bond, and was released.

Parham’s initial court appearance is set for 9 a.m. April 30 at the Kane County Judicial Center.

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Julie Roys

Julie is a graduate of both Wheaton College and the prestigious Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She and her husband, Neal, live in the Chicago suburbs and have three children.

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