72-year-old woman imprisoned for embezzling $700,000 from Holy Cross Church in Vero Beach

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5 days ago

VERO BEACH – A 72-year-old woman guilty of embezzling around $700,000 from Holy Cross Catholic Church on July 18 was ordered to prison for a decade followed by 20 years of probation.
Deborah Lynn True, a resident of Frederick, Colorado and a former parish administrator at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach, was also ordered to pay the church $697,138.98 in restitution after being released from prison, Circuit Judge Robert Meadows ruled during her sentencing hearing in the Indian River County Courthouse.
Standing before Meadows wearing a bright-colored print blouse and slacks, True remained silent as he imposed a sentence negotiated with state prosecutors during a May 1 hearing in which she pleaded no contest to first-degree grand theft. She was accused of misusing church donations over several years to pay off personal debts, records show.
The church is at 500 Iris Lane on Orchid Island.
The plea deal requires True to pay the restitution in equal monthly installments for the duration of her probation or face being returned to prison, court records show.
In sentencing True, Meadows said when she's released from prison, she may not seek to terminate her probation term early and must make monthly restitution payments or face returning to prison.
"You will not return to the Holy Cross Catholic Church and you are subject to warrantless searches and seizures of yourself and your property," Meadows told True. "Good luck to you ma'am."
After court, Long said the only just sentence for True was a prison term.
'Stealing over $600,000 is bad enough, but taking it from a church and your fellow parishioners is especially egregious,' Long said. 'I thank the (Vero Beach Police Department) for bringing us such a strong case, and I believe the thoroughness of their investigation is why this matter resolved without a trial.'
Bank account hidden from Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach
True was arrested in September 2022 following a Vero Beach police investigation that began in December 2021 after the chief financial officer of the Diocese of Palm Beach reported True and the late Rev. Richard Murphy were suspected "of embezzling over $1 million in funds,' according to court filings.
Murphy was pastor at Holy Cross until he died at age 80 in March 2020. True retired in July 2020 and moved to Jacksonville, then Colorado.
An additional church bank account was discovered after a new pastor and bookkeeper were hired, an arrest affidavit stated.
According to police investigators, in 2012 True and Murphy opened a bank account hidden from the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach, and that nearly $1.5 million of parishioners' donations were fraudulently deposited into the account since 2015.
Nearly $550,000 was used to pay True's personal lines of credit, and about $147,000 was deposited into True's personal checking accounts, records show.
When police spoke with True via phone, she told investigators she transferred to the church in 1997 with Murphy. They had worked at a Catholic church in Stuart from the mid-1980s until 1997.
She said her title at Holy Cross was 'parish administrator' and her job 'included tasks such as scheduling events, human resources, bookkeeping and payroll.'
'She was the only person who would deposit checks received by Holy Cross,' detectives noted.
She eventually told investigators she used funds to pay off her personal debt, saying Murphy gave her permission.
Police reported Murphy also appeared to benefit from the money, but because of his death a criminal investigation wasn't conducted to identify an amount.
In court, after Meadows imposed True's punishment, she was fingerprinted, handcuffed and escorted to a holding cell to be transferred to the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections.
Her Vero Beach attorney Andy Metcalf later noted True was "left standing alone to be charged in this case when Father Murphy died and she remains alone now in taking responsibility. "
"These cases can result in very favorable outcomes if there is an ability to pay restitution. Ms. True was unable to do so," he said. "I have received letters of anger and disgust and I have received letters of support for her. One of the letters of support even questioning their fellow parishioners' lack of compassion and forgiveness, wondering if Father Murphy was alive, would others in the church have been so harsh in their judgment."
(This story was updated with more information and photos.)
Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Ex-employee of Holy Cross Church heads to prison for embezzling $700K
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