Tennessee Church Employee Charged With Stealing Almost $200K from Church Funds

Police in Henderson, Tennessee, last week arrested a church employee, charging him with siphoning nearly $200,000 over a two-year period from the church where he worked.

In June 2022, special agents launched an investigation after Long Hollow Church reported large sums of missing money as stolen. As a result, Long Hollow immediately terminated Daniel Meadows, 32. Meadows was the church’s campus operations specialist and executive assistant.

When the investigation began, Long Hollow issued a statement saying Meadows had systematically abused his access to church resources. At the time of Meadow’s termination, the church estimated he had stolen “more than $100,000 in fraudulent and personal purchases” using church accounts.

“We’re informing you of this today because we always want to be transparent with you. As a church staff, integrity is one of the most important values we have, and we take any breach of that trust seriously.”

Long Hollow credited a system of yearly external audits and internal financial controls for helping its business operations team uncover the theft.

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The church said that while they had passed their most recent audit, Meadows was in a unique position to exploit their system “by spreading dozens of purchases across different budget lines and disguising his behavior behind events and other complex projects.”

“It’s only natural to wish this theft would’ve been caught sooner, but we are thankful that the truth has come out,” the statement continued.

“As you can imagine, this news has been devastating to our staff. We find ourselves seeking justice for the financial abuse that’s taken place, but also seeking mercy and healing for a brother who has fallen prey to sin. Join us in praying for Daniel and his family in the days ahead.”

Meadows has a wife and two young children.

The theft from Long Hollow Baptist Church occurred between April 2021 and June 2022 and totaled about $198,775, according to a news release.

Meadows was booked at the Sumner County Jail on a $7,500 bond. His settlement hearing is scheduled for March 30, 2023.