Former Chaplain Association Bookkeeper Pleads Guilty to Felony Theft

A former bookkeeper for the St. Croix Chaplaincy Association pleaded guilty to four counts of felony theft for allegedly stealing more than $245,000 from the association’s bank accounts.

Susan Kaye Fredrickson, 64, of Oak Park Heights pleaded guilty to four counts of theft—indifferent to owner rights for writing 277 association checks to herself totaling $245,195 from November 2004 to January 2011, according to an amended criminal complaint filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office.

Fredrickson will be sentenced on Feb. 15 in Washington County District Court. She faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and up to $20,000 in fines for each count of theft.

The Stillwater Police Department’s investigation into the theft began in January 2011 after the director of the St. Croix Chaplaincy Association reported the theft of funds from the clergy group’s bank accounts.

The association’s director told police, that based on year-end review of reports, he believed Fredricksen—in her capacity as a bookkeeper—embezzled more than $100,000 from the chaplain association’s savings certificate that was kept at First State Bank in Bayport.

The association’s director told police that he had obtained the year-end report from Fredricksen and requested that his personal accountant review the data sheet to confirm his suspicions about her conduct.

The association’s director and Fredricksen were the only two signatories on the checking account and savings certificate, the complaint states. The association’s director told police that he had no personal involvement with the checking account and savings certificate, explaining that managing the checking account and savings certificate was solely Fredricksen’s responsibility.

The director told police that Fredricksen volunteered with the St. Croix Chaplaincy Association, but was given an annual $1,800 stipend. She had been with the association for four years.

When the association’s director conducted an online review of the bank and trust account, he learned immediately that Fredricksen had written dozens of checks on the Association’s account, the complaint states. The checks were written for large sums of money and were made payable to Fredricksen in an amount far in excess of the $1,800 annual stipend to which she was entitled, the complaint states.

After receiving the information, police conducted a search warrant at Fredricksen’s home in Oak Park Heights. When questioned about the alleged theft, she told police: “I may have spent some money inappropriately.”

Police believe that after withdrawing funds from the savings certificate, Fredricksen would deposit the money into the Association’s checking account to keep it from becoming insolvent. She then would write checks to herself and deposit them into her personal checking account at First State Bank and Trust, the complaint states.

In addition to the alleged theft, the association’s director told police that the Minnesota Department of Revenue levied on the Association’s bank account in August 2009 for $1,004.60 in unpaid taxes. As a bookkeeper, filing tax returns on behalf of the association was reportedly Fredericksen’s responsibility.

The St. Croix Chaplaincy Association is a group comprised of area clergy who provide chaplain services at Stillwater and Bayport nursing homes and Lakeview Hospital. The association receives its funding from churches, nursing homes, Lakeview Hospital and through miscellaneous grants from foundations.