Grandson of Pastor Arrested for Embezzling Nearly Half a Million Dollars

The Dallas Church of God discovered the transactions dating back five years.

The grandson of a pastor in North Carolina has been accused of embezzling nearly half a million dollars from the church his grandfather leads.

Jordan Shortridge was arrested earlier this month for larceny and embezzlement of funds from the Dallas Church of God, which his grandfather D.R. Shortridge has led for 50 years.

The embezzlement appears to have begun as far back as 2018. More than $470,000 was used for non-church-related purchases with some purchases being made via PayPal, according to police reports.

“It’s sad for the community, it’s sad for the church body, and I hate it for the Shortridge family as well. But at the end of the day, none of us are above the law,” Robert Walls, police chief in Dallas, North Carolina told Fox 8.

The church’s accounting department discovered the discrepancies in 2021. Its bank then conducted an audit and discovered unknown withdrawals and payments being made via PayPal.

The church filed a police report on July 31, 2023, and the Dallas police began its investigation.

It is unclear why the church waited two years to notify law enforcement of the possible embezzlement, but the Dallas police are investigating that as well, Walls said.

“There is some concern that some other people may have known about this once they brought some stuff to us,” Walls said, adding that the investigation could discover more people were involved.

According to Fox 8, “the whole Shortridge family is involved in the church,” and Jordan Shortridge had been mentioned on the church’s website as a drummer and member of the audio-visual team.

Now several tabs on the church’s website, including the tab about the pastor, are “under construction.”

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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