For years a subject was doing fraud: now he faces up to 60 years in prison

A former leader of the Church of Christian Science in The Angels pleaded guilty to steal more of $ 11 millions to the Church where he served, authorities said Tuesday.

Charles Thomas Sebesta, 55 years old and from Huntington beach, faces the criminal charge for having stolen that sum of Bank accounts of the church, transferring money to fake companies. As an alibi, he impersonated real estate. For this reason, the crime of bank fraud is also charged.

The Office of the Procurator Nicola T. Hanna reported that the subject has been detained and in custody since his arrest in August 2019.

Sebesta was hired since 2001 as administrator in the 5th. church of Christian Science, and joined the Church in 2005, where he eventually became the leader. In that position, he controlled all financial operations From the temple.

Between August 2006 and December 2016, Sebesta authorized payments from the accounts of the Church to fictitious companies, as well as bank accounts that he put in his name and his relatives. To do so, he also falsified signatures and used names.

In 2008, Sebesta supervised the sale of properties that the Church had in Hollywood in approximately $ 12.8 million, and then diverted part of those profits to their own accounts, thereby buying a house from $ 2 million. Deviations appeared in the church's financial statements as donations.

In 2009 and 2010, Sebesta made a turn of $ 1.86 million for your personal accounts of taxes, to receive refunds more juicy from the government.

For this, he pretended to be a real estate entrepreneur making donations to the church. To all these crimes are added other minor frauds that the same subject made, and together could receive a sentence of up to 60 years in prison.

The United States Secret Service was the one who investigated this case.

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