Flordia Priest Cleared of Fraud After Bishop Banned and Stripped Him of Duties
A nationally known forensic accounting firm completed a detailed investigation of the misappropriation of funds at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Florida.
The investigation covered 5 years the church was under the leadership of the Father Stan Strycharz and has determined there is no evidence of fraud or misappropriation of church funds.
“Based on my work described in our report, I have not found evidence that Father Stan [Strycharz] misappropriated monies or other property from St. Leo's Parish," said forensic accountant Michael Crain, a certified public accountant and certified fraud examiner of The Financial Valuation Group.
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The Financial Valuation Group report disagreed sharply with Bishop Frank Dewane's suggestion that at least $1 million was missing from St. Leo's Parish.
Father Strycharz said he hopes the investigation will conclude nearly 16 months of verbal abuse and public accusations from Bishop Dewane. Father Strycharz said he hopes that the Bishop will apologize for his actions and restore his good name.
During Father Strycharz's tenure at the Church, membership more than doubled to over 2,400 families. He led a highly successful $11 million capital campaign to raise money for a church expansion and was much beloved by church members as well as other members of the community who expressed their support with the organization parishioners created, Save the Southwest Florida Diocese.
Before a thorough investigation could have been completed, Father Strycharz was removed from his role as head of St. Leo's. Bishop Dewane also banned him from performing any priestly duties.
"I am breaking my silence of almost 16 months imposed on me by Bishop Dewane because I want to clear my name and reputation to the many members of St. Leo and members of the Bonita Springs community who continued to give me strength and helped me maintain my faith," said Father Strycharz.
The report ultimately found that the reason for the missing funds was due to inadequate record-keeping and not because of any fraud or misappropriation of church funds.
