Florida woman helped with Georgia church’s books and stole $170,000, feds say
A Florida woman accused of stealing thousands of dollars in federal loan money meant for the Georgia church and charity she volunteered with is heading to prison, federal prosecutors said.
Judith Alane Chavis, 58, was sentenced to 21 months behind bars per count, plus three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia said in an April 30 news release. Chavis also must pay $173,500 in restitution, prosecutors said.
She’ll serve the prison time concurrently, according to prosecutors.
The sentence came after Chavis, from Sorrento, Florida, pleaded guilty in October to 10 counts of money laundering and five counts of wire fraud in relation to a disaster benefit, prosecutors said.
Her attorney declined to comment on the case in a May 1 email to McClatchy News.
Between 2018 and 2022, Chavis volunteered as the bookkeeper for Glory Church of Alapaha and its Peanut Butter and Jesus Outreach, prosecutors said. Unbeknownst to church and charity leaders, she obtained federal disaster relief loan money and an advance for the organizations, according to prosecutors.
She transferred much of the money to her own account and spent it on travel and other personal expenses, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors put the total loss at $173,500, the court filing said.
In the news release, Paul Brown, FBI Atlanta special agent in charge, said “Chavis betrayed the confidence the church had placed in her by misappropriating funds intended to support its mission.”
He added that “we hope that this federal prison sentence offers some measure of closure to the church and its congregation and serves as a warning to others who might exploit the trust of faith-based or charitable institutions for personal enrichment.”
Alapaha is about a 200-mile drive south from Atlanta.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Florida woman helped with Georgia church’s books and stole $170,000, feds say."
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