Freeburg woman pleads guilty to stealing from Belleville Catholic schools

A former business manager on Wednesday pleaded guilty to stealing more than $153,000 from two Belleville Catholic grade schools.

Michelle N. Miller, 45, of Freeburg admitted in a federal court for the Southern District of Illinois that she wrote checks and made excess salary payments to herself from accounts belonging to St. Teresa’s and St. Luke’s schools.

According to court records, Miller sometimes forged the signatures of the parish priests to commit the fraud.

“Nonprofit organizations like St. Teresa’s and St. Luke’s provide vital services to our communities’ children and families,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “Criminal behavior targeting such organizations is unconscionable and even more so when it comes from within.

“Those who perpetrate it will be held to account.”

Miller’s offense carries a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 16, 2023, at the federal courthouse in Benton.

According to court records, Miller wrote checks to herself from a St. Teresa’s account at the Bank of Belleville totaling $36,493 from April of 2018 to November 2019.

From September of 2017 to February 2020, the court records show, she wrote checks payable to herself for an additional $105,247.

To conceal her fraud, Miller made false entries into the parish’s QuickBooks program, stating that the checks had been made payable to St. Teresa’s when they instead had been deposited into her personal bank account, according to court records.

Miller also wrote checks for petty cash totaling about $4,200 from both school accounts, then took the cash for herself. Over 12 pay periods from August 2019 to February 2020, she received $8,000 in excess salary by making false or misleading adjustments into St. Teresa’s payroll system.

In all, Miller admitted to taking $153,940.38 from the two parochial schools.

A bank fraud investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and the Belleville Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter T. Reed.

This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 5:47 PM.