 |
| Wendi Wishnefsky McLamb and the Sabbath Home Baptist Church |
Former
Pastor and treasurer at Sabbath Home Baptist Church in Supply, North Carolina
were searched on Wednesday this week and according to police, pinning evidence
of embezzlement of church funds was found.
Ransom
Wade McLamb, Jr. and his estranged wife, Wendi Wishnefsky McLamb are accused of
stealing over $136,000 from the church between 2014 and 2020 when the former was the pastor
and the latter treasurer and secretary at the church.
Wendi
appeared in Brunswick County Court on Thursday after the searching of her
house.
According
to WECT, the detectives went through financial records of the McLambs including
medical payments, bank transactions, credit unions, insurance, purchase
transaction among others.
The
search found more than 30 purchases with Amazon in question dating from
2016-2019, ranging from a $2.12 purchase to $93.45, and a more detailed
list of Apple charges between 2018 and 2020.
When
the duo was still together as husband and wife and in their capacities at church,
paid personal bills with church funds including schooling, traveling,
insurance, credit cards, and many more,” the application said, according to
WECT.
The
application also notes that Ransom McLamb had a procedure completed in 2018 at
New Hanover Regional Medical Center using church funds.
In
August last 2020, Pastor Ransom Wade McLamb, Jr abruptly resigned without
reason, leaving his son-in-law Chris Cocker as the interim pastor while Wendi
Wishnefsky McLamb left the church in November the same year.
The
church members reported that Wendi submitted to them little documentation of
the church funds expenditures during the six-year period in the office since
2014.
The
church bought and installed a recovery program in the treasurer’s computer
which revealed that three files that contained closure of three church bank
accounts and opening of another, without authorization, had been deleted from
the computer.
Reviewed
records revealed that the McLambs reimbursed themselves for expenses without
documentation or authorization which totaled more than $136,000, according to
The News&Observer.
Wendi
Wishnefsky McLamb, 52 and her ex-husband Ransom Wade McLamb Jr, 54, were first
arrested in March 2021 on charges of felony embezzlement of funds felony
conspiracy.
They got
released on bonds at $150,000 for Wendi and $100,000 for Wade.
WECT reported that the duo had not responded to their requests for comment on the charges against them by press time and none of the contacted church members responded apart from one connected to the investigation who declined to comment.
Please listen and see more pictures of the story here:
.......................................
Faith Reporters
Email: faithreporters@gmail.com
Tel: +250788240436
May God bless you
Comments
Post a Comment