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Okemos priest accused of embezzlement could lose $1.4 million home
By Beth Leblanc
[with video] Local prosecutors have filed paperwork to seize the home of a priest charged with stealing from his Okemos parish. The June 26 filing lists Rev. Jonathan Wehrle’s more than $1.4 million home in Williamston and a vacant parcel nearby as subject to civil forfeiture. Chief Assistant Ingham County Prosecutor Lisa McCormick said the paperwork provides legal notice that the property is part of a criminal complaint and is subject to civil forfeiture. Wehrle has not been convicted of a crime. “If there’s no criminal conviction then you do not proceed on the forfeiture,” McCormick said. If Wehrle is convicted and his property forfeited, his home could be sold and used as restitution, McCormick said. Wehrle, the founding pastor of St. Martha Parish in Okemos, was charged in May with embezzlement of $100,000 or more. Police believe Wehrle used at least $1.85 million in parish funds on his Williamston home. The alleged embezzlement was discovered and reported by the Catholic Diocese of Lansing during an audit of the parish. Wehrle was placed on administrative leave May 9. Larry Nolan, Wehrle’s lawyer, said he had not yet seen the paperwork the prosecutor's office filed with the Register of Deeds. He said Wehrle is in poor health, but plans to appear for a preliminary hearing Friday. “I would remind everyone that he still deserves a presumption of innocence,” Nolan said. Wehrle’s 11,345-square-foot home at 1400 Noble Road sits on 10 acres and has three barns ranging from 1,792 to 2,304 square feet. Taxes on the property in 2016 were $25,106, according to county records. The Jonathan W. Wehrle Trust currently is listed as the owner of the home but, in a 2005 electrical permit for the home, St. Martha’s Church is listed as the owner, according to records obtained by the State Journal. Police have said check stubs and invoices indicate funds from the church were used to pay for work and materials at the home. Nolan has maintained his client has “independent family money” that may have helped to pay for the home. Diocese clarifies financial proceduresIn June, St. Martha Parish published in its bulletin a two-page insert from the diocese regarding parish financial procedures. The publication includes information on the diocese’s recent requirement to perform internal audits at parishes every three to five years, instead of when a priest changes parishes. It also lists information on parish finance councils, training from the diocesan finance office, and priests’ pay, which averages around $35,000 to $40,000 annually in the Diocese of Lansing. The insert said neither the diocese nor a parish will pay attorney fees for a priest charged with embezzlement. The diocese, it says, has insurance that covers money loss due to crimes like theft or embezzlement. The diocese advises people to call police if they suspect clergy or a church worker is involved in illegal activity. The diocese also lists a “Diocese of Lansing Financial Misconduct Hotline” for people who suspect financial misconduct at their parishes. Michael Diebold, a spokesman for the diocese, said Bishop Earl Boyea requested that all churches publish the insert to assure parishioners of the measures in place to protect against financial problems. “Some of those measures that are in place are what tipped off the diocese that there may have been some embezzlement,” he said. He said any assets potentially recovered from the alleged incident in Okemos would go to the parish. “We will certainly pursue any avenues that are available to the diocese for any parish funds that may be missing,” Diebold said. Contact: eleblanc@gannett.com
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