Church secretary steals $570,000, takes Grand Canyon helicopter tour, FL cops say
A church’s financial secretary is accused of stealing more than half a million dollars from the organization in Florida and using the money to go to SeaWorld and take a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon, investigators said.
Melissa English, 44, who managed the financial records at Amelia Baptist Church for 11 years, has been arrested on charges of embezzlement, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said in an April 10 news release.
“In October of 2024, the leadership of Amelia Baptist Church discovered evidence of financial irregularities,” the Fernandina Beach church said in a statement provided to McClatchy News. “The employee overseeing the financial operations of the church admitted to wrongdoing and her employment was terminated immediately.”
The church hired a contractor to review the finances and reported the missing funds to law enforcement, per the news release.
The nearly five-year fraud scheme was discovered when two new members of the church’s financial committee began looking over bank statements and records, only to notice some money missing, deputies said.
They looked at the purchases on English’s church-issued credit card and “discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars had been used for her personal expenses,” according to deputies.
Investigators said English used the money for cruises, concerts, SeaWorld tickets, flights, a helicopter tour in Arizona, hotels and Airbnb stays, shoes and baseball tickets, among other personal expenses. She was also accused of giving herself extra payroll payments.
From 2019 to 2024, it appeared English began embezzling more and more money from the church, starting at almost $40,000 in 2019 and reaching $123,000 in 2023, according to investigators.
She embezzled $90,000 in 2024 before she was caught, deputies said.
In total, she’s accused of stealing more than $570,000.
“While the last few months have been incredibly hurtful and difficult, it would be easy to become distracted from our main mission as a church,” church leadership said. “Amelia Baptist Church remains committed to the values that make us a church family.”
English was arrested in neighboring Baker County on a warrant of grand theft over $100,000, deputies said.
Fernandina Beach is the northeasternmost city in Florida.
This story was originally published April 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Church secretary steals $570,000, takes Grand Canyon helicopter tour, FL cops say."