Police arrest Plymouth parish treasurer for £120,000 theft: The Church of England Newspaper, April 22, 2012 p 3. April 26, 2012
Posted by geoconger in Church of England, Church of England Newspaper, Crime.Tags: Diocese of Exeter, fraud, Nicola Holding, St Boniface St Budeaux
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St Boniface Church, St Budeaux, Plymouth
A former church treasurer has been charged with embezzling nearly £120,000 from a Plymouth parish and church school.
On 12 April 2012 Nicola Jane Holding (47) of Plymouth was charged with three counts of fraud by of position. She was accused of having “dishonestly abused” her position as treasurer St Boniface Church, St Budeaux in Plymouth by stealing £50,794.79 from church coffers, of having stolen £68,080.44 from the accounts of the church’s pre-school, and £500 from the accounts of the church’s youth club.
Devon & Cornwall police arrested Ms. Holding on 9 Nov 2011 after a review by a forensic accountant engaged by the Diocese of Exeter found that at least £10,000 had gone missing from the church’s accounts. An investigation by detectives of the Asset Recovery Team uncovered the other thefts.
Following her arrest in November, a spokesman for the diocese said: “We are doing all we can to support the church community while this police inquiry is underway.”
Ms. Holding has been released on bail and will appear at Plymouth Magistrates Court on 9 May 2012.
First published in The Church of England Newspaper.
