Chino Hill church administrator charged in alleged embezzlement
CHINO -- Prosecutors have filed two felonies against an Ontario man accused of embezzling nearly $1 million from Calvary Chapel Chino Hills while he was an administrator at the church.
Farrukh Ahmed, 48, was charged last week with grand theft by embezzlement and grand theft of personal property.
Ahmed is due in Chino Superior Court Wednesday for an arraignment. He was arrested in December but has been out of custody since posting a $50,000 bail bond on Jan. 4.
In the criminal complaint filed Thursday, prosecutors accuse Ahmed of embezzling from the church between Jan. 16, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2009.
Prosecutors also accuse Ahmed of stealing from Ashley and Morgan Lawrence on Sept. 19, 2009. The alleged victims' roles in the church, if any, were unavailable Monday.
Jack Hibbs, pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, has said that between $720,000 and $960,000 was stolen from the church.
Ahmed's attorney, David D. Diamond, denied last month in a news release that his client embezzled from the church.
"This case is upsetting because there is no way in the world that my client embezzled $900,000," Diamond said. "Pastor Hibbs had unfettered access to the church monies and was never responsible to show or explain how or why the money was being spent."
"Pastor Hibbs clearly has no respect for the clergy-penitent privilege," Diamond continued. "He is more of a CEO than a religious leader.
"He has released blatant falsities to the media as it relates to this case. Our investigation will begin with a full and complete accounting of the Church's finances.
"In this time of economic difficulties, the fact that this crime was used as a marketing tool saddens me and more than likely disappoints God himself. My client is a good, family man. While he is not perfect, he did not embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Staff Writer Neil Nisperos contributed to this report.
Sadly, Church Fraud is a very real concern, with potential risk from the outside as well as within. There are simple steps to increase the security of your churches finances but it is difficult to know where to start. I recently found out about a Christian Accounting firm that offers online tools and support for churches. They have some excellent resources as well as an online questionnaire that will determine whether your church is at risk. Their service is called Weeds in the Garden.
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