Mendota Heights Church Theft: Ex-Director Of Operations Sentenced

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN — A New Brighton man was sentenced Friday to 10 years of supervised probation in connection with the theft of $33,000 from a Catholic parish in Mendota Heights.

The theft occurred while Christopher Paul Seiple, 48, was employed as the Director of Operations.

Seiple pled guilty Dec. 11, 2019 to three counts of theft by swindle. He was ordered to pay over $118,000 in restitution, serve 30 days in jail, and 30 days of electronic home monitoring.

On July 3, 2019, police responded to a report of suspected theft from the church. Someone conducting an audit of the church’s financial records discovered several suspicious transactions involving Seiple, authorities said.

Several checks issued to vendors by Seiple on behalf of the church were for invoices that had already been paid, the criminal complaint states.

These checks were deposited using a mobile application into Seiple’s personal account, according to investigators. Seiple admitted to law enforcement that he had issued several checks to vendors on behalf of the church but had deposited the checks into his own bank account, police said.

He also admitted these checks were unauthorized and fraudulent, the complaint states. The approximate amount of suspicious checks from Nov. 10, 2018 to May 24, 2019 was over $33,000, according to a news release.

Seiple told police he was behind on his mortgage and had been purchasing up to $400 worth of scratch off tickets a day, according authorities.