Hundreds of Thousands Stolen From Indiana Church
Former administrative assistant faces 17 felony charges
From designer bag purchases to a surgery in Mexico, Julia Wonnacott, 36, is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands from her local church for personal use.
Heartland Community Church / Photo via Google Maps
Heartland Community Church in Lafayette, Indiana, filed a police report last year after receiving an alert from their bank about account discrepancies, according to The Christian Post.
On Aug. 20, 2024, the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Department began investigating, revealing over $100,000 had been embezzled from church accounts since December 2021.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Wonnacott confessed to fellow church employees she had been misusing her position to siphon church funds. When she began working for HCC in February 2020 as an administrative assistant, she was given access to all church bank accounts.
Officers reportedly found a church-owned computer containing a program to create fraudulent bank records. Church employees told police that Wonnacott frequently took the computer home. By providing the church with the fraudulent bank records, Wonnacott continued to make numerous personal purchases with the stolen funds.
A few months into the investigation, in November 2024, a civil lawsuit was filed against Wonnacott and her husband, Matthew Wonnacott, The Lafayette Journal & Courier reported.
Wonnacott reportedly transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars in church funds into her personal PayPal account until every account was empty or overdrawn. She made multiple purchases on PayPal, Walmart, Target, and Amazon, all from her work computer.
The fraudulent purchases include down payments on two vehicles and a house, airline tickets, a surgery in Mexico, jewelry, designer purses, vacations, two Apple tablets, an Apple watch, house and vehicle payments, and more, according to The Exponent.
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Wonnacott allegedly misappropriated $2,800 as earnest money for her home and $13,000 for the down payment. Authorities estimate the losses to be well over the initial speculation, now assumed to be about $250,000 in 2023 and up to $200,000 in 2022, Frenetic reports.
Wonnacott also allegedly forged the signatures of four HCC employees to apply for approximately $170,000 in lines of credit. Police uncovered a fraudulent loan application from Griffin Capital in January 2024 and a fraudulent application for the Employee Retention Credit through the IRS in July 2024. Both were created by Wonnacott on behalf of HCC, but the applications were not approved.
Wonnacott now faces 17 felony charges—namely fraud, corrupt business influence, and counterfeiting. The investigation is ongoing.
Now in custody at the Tippecanoe County Jail, Wonnacott had her initial hearing, and she intends to secure private legal counsel. Her bond is set at $10,000 cash and $100,000 surety. Her trial is set for December 1.
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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