The city of angels is now home to one more sinner with the sentencing of a prominent church’s ex-chairman for an $11 million wire and bank fraud last month. Charles Thomas Sebesta worked as the chairman for the Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist in Los Angeles, one of the city’s wealthy congregations, from whom he stole more than $11 million in church funds under the guise of “donations” and payments to fake companies.
Over the course of 10 years, Sebesta made checks and bank payments to his personal accounts, shell companies he owned, family members and his girlfriend. He even impersonated a real estate developer during several email exchanges to further the sale of church property in Hollywood for which he skimmed a large portion to purchase a $2 million home.
“Sebesta pleaded guilty in February 2020 to one count of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud,” states a Department of Justice press release. Now, he has been sentenced to 130 months in federal prison as well as owing $11.4 in restitution to the church. Oftentimes in similar cases, real estate and other assets acquired with the illicit funds are seized as well, though it has not been reported in Sebesta’s case.
