A former parish secretary and bookkeeper surrendered to authorities Friday in connection with allegations that she embezzled at least $400,000 from a church in DeSoto, Missouri.
Corie M. Boyer, 49, of Jefferson County, Missouri, was indicted on March 6 in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on four counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. She pleaded not guilty in court Friday afternoon.
According to the indictment, Boyer was responsible for maintaining parish financial records, organizing certain fundraisers, and assisting with collecting and counting weekly offertory contributions. Prosecutors allege that from at least January 2017 through March 2024, she misappropriated at least $400,000 in parish funds. The indictment states that she used parish funds to pay her personal credit card bills and used parish credit cards for personal expenses, including airfare for herself and relatives, cruises, college tuition payments, shopping, taxes, and rent. Additionally, she allegedly wrote checks to herself, stole cash from the offertory, and concealed the thefts by falsifying parish records…