TULARE (CA)
ABC 30 Action News (KFSN)
December 11, 2017
By Brian Johnson
TULARE, Calif. (KFSN) — A South Valley priest accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his church was back in court Monday.
52-year-old Ignacio Villafan was the former priest at Rita’s Catholic Church in Tulare. His preliminary hearing continued on Monday, and Gerrie Lenn Pimentel again took the witness stand.
As director of parish financial reporting for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno, she discovered discrepancies that eventually lead to Villafan’s arrest in late 2014.
Prosecutors say Villafan stole $425,000 from St. Rita’s between 2005 and 2012.
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