Texas Episcopal priest charged with stealing over $300K from church
An Episcopal church priest has been charged with allegedly stealing more than $300,000 from a Texas church, with a court appearance for the accused clergyman still pending.
The Rev. Edward Monk, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Corsicana, Texas, was indicted last month on the charges of stealing over $300,000, fraudulently using an elderly person’s identity, and credit card abuse of an elderly individual.
Monk was arrested on Dec. 21, 2024, and later released after he posted bail, the Episcopal News Service reports. The total amount that he allegedly stole hasn't been publicly released.
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“Investigators continue to review thousands of pages of financial records from dozens of accounts spanning more than a decade,” said Corsicana Police Chief Robert Johnson, according to ENS.
“We appreciate the ongoing cooperation of the local parishioners and the diocese and the assistance provided by the District Attorney and Attorney General’s Office.”
In addition to serving as rector at St. John’s Episcopal since 2003, Monk had also chaired the Nashotah House Theological Seminary’s board of directors until last August.
Last July, police began investigating Monk after members of St. John’s Episcopal reported suspicious financial activity. The Navarro County District Attorney and Texas’ Office of the Attorney General have also participated in the criminal investigation.
For its part, the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas also launched an investigation into the allegations of financial misconduct, with Monk being placed on administrative leave last August.
The Rev. Tim Cherry, the diocesan investigator, charged Monk last November with six Title IV counts of mismanagement of the local church's funds and fraud, reported The Corsicana Daily Sun.
Specific allegations included “failing to safeguard the property and funds of the Church and Community,” “any criminal act that reflects adversely on the Member of the Clergy’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a minister of the church,” and “conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.”
For his part, Monk gave a short written response to a diocesan hearing panel last November in which he stated, “I deny all allegations brought against me in these proceedings.”
Monk also claimed that the “repeated denial of my access to information, including my personal files and the church records, and decision of the Reference Panel to proceed even though my counsel could not attend, has in the past and continues to now prevent me from not only defending myself, but specifically prohibited me from participating in these proceedings in a meaningful way.”
