Former DeSoto Church Bookkeeper Sentenced for Embezzling More Than $580,000

Jefferson Co., Mo. (KFMO) - A former parish secretary and bookkeeper who embezzled more than half a million dollars from a DeSoto church has been sentenced to federal prison.

On Friday,50-year-old Corie M. Boyer of Jefferson County, was sentenced to 33 months in prison and ordered her to repay $581,337 in restitution.

According to federal prosecutors, Boyer stole the money from the parish between 2017 and 2024 while serving in a trusted role managing the church’s financial records. Her duties included maintaining the parish’s books and records, organizing certain parish fundraisers, and assisting with the collection and counting of weekly offertory donations.

Investigators say Boyer used several methods to carry out the theft. Authorities say she misused parish credit cards that were intended for fundraising expenses, wrote parish checks to herself and cashed them, used parish bank accounts to pay down balances on her personal credit cards, and stole cash donations from the church’s weekly offertory collections.

Officials say Boyer spent the stolen money in a variety of ways, including gambling, shopping, paying taxes and rent, taking a family vacation, and helping fund a relative’s college tuition. Prosecutors say she attempted to conceal the theft by falsifying parish financial records.

“Corie Boyer betrayed her parish when she abused her position of trust for personal gain,” said IRS Criminal Investigation St. Louis Special Agent in Charge William Steenson. “She stole funds from the church, spent the money on herself and others, and took steps to cover up the theft.”

Steenson added that IRS-Criminal Investigation remains committed to investigating abuses of trust and working with law enforcement partners to pursue justice for victims.

Boyer pleaded guilty in October in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two counts of wire fraud.