The wife of a former police chief in the United States has been sentenced to five years in prison for stealing $360,000 from her church congregation.
38 year old Chanell Easton who is married to former Marysville, California Police Department Chief Aaron Easton, was an administrator at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Yuba City in northern California. She was found guilty of stealing the money from the congregation over a five year period between June 2013 and February 2018.
Easton took funds from different accounts, including St. Andrew's food pantry and youth group. She also used church credit cards for personal purchases, including holiday rental and retail trips. She was charged in May 2022 with 22 counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
Easton pleaded guilty to the 22 wire fraud counts, but not guilty to the two counts of identity theft.
St Andrew Presbyterian church released a statement in 2022 saying it first became aware of the missing funds shortly after Easton had stopped working for the church.
"This has been a long, tiring and frustrating process," stated the church, adding that "multifaceted systems of checks and balances, controls and accountability have been a top priority and have been set in place since Chanell left."
In a letter to US District Judge John A. Mendez in advance of sentencing, Easton said she had "deep regret" for her criminal behaviour, claiming that she had had an abusive upbringing that had a "profound effect on my development and well-being."
"I am deeply sorry for what I have done," Easton wrote, as quoted by The Sacramento Bee last month. "This is not who I am."