Woman convicted for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Yuba City church
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SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — An Oklahoma City woman was found guilty of embezzling over $360,000 from a Yuba City church where she worked as an administrator.
A federal judge found Chanell Easton, 38, guilty of two counts of aggravated identity theft on Monday.
Easton previously pleaded guilty to 22 counts of wire fraud for this case in October.
According to court documents, Easton worked as the church’s administrator from 2013 to 2018. She was accused of using credit cards associated with the church to make personal purchases for things like VIP concert tickets, vacation rentals, hair services and more. She then paid off the balance with the church’s money.
Prosecutors said one of the cards Easton used belonged to the church’s youth minister and Easton used his identity to make thousands of dollars worth of purchases on Zappos.com.
Easton would also transfer money directly into her bank account and write herself checks, according to prosecutors.
Easton faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud and a mandatory two-year sentence on each county of aggravated identity theft.
She is set to be sentenced on June 25.
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