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IDAHO FALLS — A woman in Idaho was sentenced to prison after admitting to embezzling over $330,000 from a church organization.
Kaitlyn Fisher, 31, was sentenced by District Judge Bruce Pickett to three to 10 years in prison. She will also be required to pay restitution of more than $330,000.
Fisher initially pleaded not guilty to 15 felony counts, including three counts of grand theft, four counts of Idaho state income tax evasion, four counts of perjury and four counts of accessing or using a computer to defraud or obtain money.
The charges stem from Fisher embezzling over $330,000 from the Presbytery of Kendall, where she worked as the administrative executive assistant, according to prosecutors. The Presbytery of Kendall is an organization that oversees the Presbyterian churches in the eastern Idaho area.
In July, Fisher signed a plea agreement, where she agreed to plead guilty to one count of grand theft, one count of Idaho state income tax evasion and one count of perjury in exchange for the remaining charges being dropped and the prosecution agreeing to recommend a minimum of three years in prison at sentencing.
During Fisher's sentencing Wednesday, her attorney, John Malek, argued that his client embezzled the money to use it for medical bills.
"My client did have legitimate medical expenses and issues that occurred with her family, her husband losing his job, the loss of insurance combined with COVID and other stressors, specifically financial stressors, and worried about the health and welfare of her child," said Malek. "I think something in the order of $100,000 (of the embezzlement) went straight to medical expenses."
Malek argued that Fisher had no professional experience as an accountant and claimed that someone at the organization should have been watching over her work to catch her stealing.
"Without blaming the victims, it should be noted that, you know, we're dealing with an organization that does oversee the financial well-being of congregations and has responsibilities upward," said Malek. "I think the fact that this went on for as long as it did without oversight is unfortunate."
Bonneville County prosecutor Lou Harris argued for Fisher to receive a minimum of three years and a maximum of 10 years, stating that Fisher suffered from a broken moral compass, given that she stole from the church organization for over two years.
"She has a very clean history. But somewhere, for some reason, that moral compass was off enough that she was able to perpetrate this crime over a term of years to the church and its patrons and her coworkers and all the various people that she reported to or worked with," said Harris. "That is something that causes one to take pause."
Two employees from the Presbytery of Kendall provided victim impact statements to the court, insisting that justice be served for the hardship her crimes caused the organization and the church's patrons.
"Ms. Fisher was entrusted with the responsibility of proper stewardship of these funds, making deposits and disbursements and payroll, accounting for and reporting transactions, funds, balances, etc. She betrayed that trust," said one of the employees. "Those of us who met with her and worked with her felt foolish for believing her excuses. We are angry. We are astounded at her brazen and extravagant misuse of funds and dismayed that we failed in our stewardship."
Fisher apologized to the court through tears and accepted her sentence.
"I just want to say I'm so sorry. What I did was absolutely wrong, and my actions need to be accounted for," said Fisher. "And I understand that, so I'm here."
Before pronouncing the sentence, Pickett told Fisher he has ruled on many embezzlement cases, and there is no excuse for using money that isn't yours.
"One of the first things you learn as an attorney in law school, they tell you about a guilty mind, and that is when somebody violates the law and breaks the law, they go through a mental process. To do that, they have to understand that it's what they're doing is wrong, and then act on it," said Pickett. "People and employers that employ people need to be able to trust them with assets."
