An Altamonte Springs church is missing $600,000.The church believes it was an inside job, but an alleged confession is raising some new questions.
The church said a former worker at the Saint Mary Magdalene Catholic Church admitted to stealing $19,000, but that's not all that's missing.
It was a sad start to the work week for parishioners at Saint Mary Magdalene Catholic Church.
Over the weekend, they learned a former employee is being investigated by Altamonte Springs police for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from church coffers.
"The person has admitted to taking part of the money, but has not admitted to everything the internal investigation has pointed to thus far," said Carol Brinati, Catholic Diocese of Orlando.
No arrests have been made and the name of the suspect has not been released, but the internal investigation by the church showed nearly $700,000 is gone.
"They pull together as a faith-filled community," Brinati said.
The church said it followed all proper accounting procedures and, if an arrest is made, it intends to prosecute.
"It definitely could lead to felony charges, depending on dollar amount. Anything over $300 makes it a felony," said Officer Timothy Hyer, Altamonte Springs Police Department.
The church said the person may have been stealing from the weekly offerings for many years.
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