A woman who embezzled $70,000 dollars from a small Des Moines church will be on probation for the next two years and a judge has ordered her to repay what she stole.
Carol Jean Padget pleaded guilty to swindling the Unity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Des Moines when she served as its treasurer. A judge sentenced her to prison, but then suspended those sentences and ordered two years of probation.
Padget showed up for her sentencing hearing with a $14,000 check according to the attorney who represented Unity Evangelical Lutheran Church. It could be considered the first installment in the tens of thousands of dollars she owes the church.
The pastor of the church gave a victim impact before sentencing, saying only God will ever know how much Padget really embezzled. Bank records were only found for six of the 11 years Padget handled church finances.