St. Andrew's United Church employee accused of theft, fraud

A female employee of St. Andrew's United Church in Halifax is accused of fraud and stealing more than $400,000 from the church, say Halifax Regional Police.

Tammy Marie James, who was listed on the church's website as their office administrator, was arraigned in court on Monday and is due back in court Jan. 12 to enter a plea.

The theft is alleged to have occurred between Jan. 1, 2011 and Dec. 31, 2013.

In a letter to members of the St. Andrew's United Church congregation, church officials said "irregularities" in the church's accounting records were identified during a routine financial review.

"After further investigation into the inconsistencies, the church council took immediate steps by involving the Halifax Police, suspending an employee and initiating a forensic audit," said the letter, dated Sept. 15.

"Within a week of the suspension, the employee resigned. The audit was completed and provided to police."

Halifax Regional Police Const. Pierre Bourdages said the money was taken from the church benevolent fund.

"We have determined that the missing funds under review are approximately $420,000, and this has taken place over the course of the past four years," said the letter from the church.

"We are now in the process of determining how these funds may be recovered, through insurance and other means. The church's insurers have been notified and we have continued to co-operate with police to help them do their work."

2 suspicious fires

James, 42, has been ordered to stay away from six people including Russell Daye and Kevin Little, who are both ministers at the Halifax church.

She must also remain at least 25 metres away from St. Andrew's United Church at 6036 Coburg Rd.

St. Andrew's United Church was in the news earlier this year when someone used an accelerant to set fire to two piles of cardboard inside the building in May. The cardboard was against an office wall and was smouldering.

There was a second suspicious fire in July. It was during that arson investigation that police were told of the financial irregularities and James was arrested, said Bourdages.

No one has been arrested in the arsons.

Daye said Monday his church has faced a number of "challenges."

"What I would like to say is that through all the challenges St. Andrew's has faced this summer, we've been remarkably grateful for the support we've received from other churches, other faith groups like Shambhala, from the community at large and from our partner organizations," he said.

"We're just very encouraged by how many people have our back and how much support we've received."

• On mobile? Read the letter to the congregation here