Former employee convicted of theft at a Northern California church

YUBA CITY, California. – A woman has been sentenced to prison for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Yuba City church over a five-year period.

Chanell Easton of Oklahoma City was sentenced to five years in prison on August 20 for embezzling more than $360,000 from a church where she worked as an administrator from 2013 to 2018.

Authorities said the 38-year-old used the church's credit cards to make purchases at a hair salon, retail stores, online retailers, a vacation rental service and VIP concert tickets. The credit cards were then paid off with church money, including money from food distribution and youth ministry.

Authorities did not disclose the identity of the church that fell victim to the plot.

One of the credit cards used in Easton's “embezzlement” belonged to the church's youth pastor, and Easton used his identity to make thousands of dollars worth of purchases on Zappos.com.

“By using the youth pastor's identity, Easton was able to conceal her embezzlement and divert suspicion from herself, allowing her to continue her fraudulent scheme,” federal authorities said.

Easton also transferred money from the church bank account to her own personal account to pay off her own credit card balance, pay her cell phone provider, and write herself checks by forging the signatures of the church treasurer or the lead volunteer at the church's food bank.

The refund will be decided at a separate hearing in November.