Stephen Methuen, 57, was treasurer at Amblecote Christian Centre in Stourbridge, West Midlands
Also stole from Christian International Relief Mission
Admitted 12 charges of false accounting committed to disguise embezzlement
Stephen Methuen pleaded guilty to 12 charges of false accounting
A former accountant is facing jail after he admitted stealing £500,000 from a church and a religious charity while working as a volunteer.
Stephen Methuen, 57, abused his position of trust while working as a treasurer for his local evangelical church and an international relief charity.
A court heard Methuen fiddled the accounts of Amblecote Christian Centre in Stourbridge, West Midlands, where he had been a member for 16 years as well as the Christian International Relief Mission over a six year period.
His dishonesty was only discovered when Adrian Lowe - the church’s senior pastor and a personal friend of Metheun - noticed irregularities while carrying out a financial assessment.
Police were called in and the subsequent investigation uncovered the extent of his Metheun’s massive fraud.
Methuen pleaded guilty to 12 charges of false accounting committed to disguise embezzlement while treasurer at both organisations at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday.
He also admitted a further four offences of cheating the revenue by submitting over-inflated Gift Aid repayment claims.
Methuen, 57, fiddled the accounts while treasurer at Amblecote Christian Centre in Stourbridge, West Midlands, where he had been a member for 16 years
Judge Michael Dudley adjourned the case and warned Methuen, from Wordsley, West Midlands, to expect a jail sentence.
After the case Mr Lowe, from Amblecote Christian Centre, said today: 'It’s a very sad day.
'Not only was Steve trusted by the congregation as a volunteer but he was also a personal friend.
'He occupied a position of absolute trust which was abused.
'As soon as the irregularities were uncovered we called an emergency meeting of our members and told them all that we could, given that a full police investigation was underway.
'In all honesty and with the benefit of hindsight we placed naive trust in Steve, and obviously, in retrospect, should not have been so trusting where money was involved.
'We are grateful for the continuing support both of our congregation and our community partners.
'We as a church sincerely desire to continue to serve the borough, and the wider district, in a way which is honouring to God.'
Methuen will be sentenced on September 10.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2179939/Former-accountant-stole-500-000-church-religious-charity-working-volunteer.html#ixzz21vGRzCBH
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