Woman Accused of Stealing More Than $255,000 From Her Church
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These are accusations, not a conviction. A court will hear the case. Still, the reports already give Bible believing churches a sober warning about money, honesty, and oversight in the house of God.
What Has Been Reported
The Christian Post, citing CT Insider, reports that Diane Devlin, 42, of Fairfield, Connecticut, has been charged with first degree larceny in the alleged theft of about $255,000 from Southern Connecticut Church of Christ, where she had served as financial administrator. Police put the total amount at $255,054.41.
According to authorities, the church treasurer reached out to police in June 2025 about Devlin possibly having taken about $18,000 from church bank accounts. The Stamford Advocate, citing the arrest warrant, reported that the treasurer was not seeking a police investigation at that first contact. After further review of the church's records, the treasurer returned in November and reported that Devlin had allegedly diverted more than $200,000 more, and this time asked the police to investigate.
The warrant, as reported by The Christian Post and the Stamford Advocate, says that when church leaders first confronted Devlin about the missing money, she tried to blame a problem with accounting software. The Advocate also reported that she said in a meeting that she accidentally used the church credit card for personal expenses, and that she announced her resignation in May 2025 before an audit of the church's finances covering the previous five years was completed.
Police reported that Devlin allegedly used church money for personal expenses, including a $148.38 restaurant bill, credit card bills, and a "double chin reducer lifting mask" for $14.83. The Stamford Advocate reported that she also allegedly used church funds to pay Discover credit card bills and diverted church money to a company, D3 Medical Management, in which she was a principal, according to the warrant and state business records.
According to the police warrant, Devlin "confessed to falsifying church documents in order to steal money from the church" at a June 2025 meeting with church leaders. In a written statement to a church leader, quoted in the warrant, she said she remembered connecting the church account to her credit card and feeling that no one would understand and that it would not be so bad. She wrote that over time borrowing became taking, that she told herself she would pay it back, and that at times she did, but that she was constantly trying to fix what was unraveling. She also wrote, "I didn't bring it into the light. I hid. I justified. I functioned through it. And because I didn't stop, the sin grew."
The alleged thefts are said to go as far back as 2021. Devlin turned herself in to Fairfield police on October 13, 2026, according to the Stamford Advocate, and posted a $25,000 bond. She was scheduled to appear at state Superior Court in Bridgeport on November 20, 2026, according to CT Insider. She has been charged. She has not been convicted. That distinction matters, and this article will keep it.
What God Says About Stealing and Church Money
The eighth commandment is not hard to read: "Thou shalt not steal" (Exodus 20:15). A church treasury is not a private fund for the person who keeps the books. The money was given by God's people for the work of God. To take it, if the charge is later proved, is theft from the church and sin against the Lord.
Paul warned, "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:10). The love of money does not always start with a large sum. The reports in this case describe alleged personal charges that began smaller and then grew. That is how sin often works. It is tolerated, hidden, justified, and then it spreads.
Paul also set a public standard for the handling of money given to the Lord's work. Speaking of the collection he was administering, he wrote, "Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us: Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" (2 Corinthians 8:20-21). Honest books are not a lack of faith. They are obedience. A church should be able to show that the offering was counted, recorded, and spent with clean hands, both before God and before men.
The New Testament also warns about one person keeping the bag alone. John wrote of Judas, "This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein" (John 12:6). The point is not that every treasurer is Judas. The point is that even among the twelve, the man who carried the money was not beyond temptation. A church that leaves offerings, bank access, and the ledger in one set of hands is asking for trouble.
Acts 5 must be handled with care. Ananias and Sapphira were not accused in a modern courtroom, and this article is not declaring the guilt of the woman now awaiting trial. The lesson of that chapter is still plain. They sold a possession, kept back part of the price, and then presented the gift as if it were the whole. Peter said they had lied to the Holy Ghost. "And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things" (Acts 5:11). God takes honesty about money in the church seriously. Lying to cover sin in the Lord's work is not a small matter.
What Churches Should Do
Pastor, do not wait for a warrant to tighten your church's finances. Put two people in the room when offerings are counted. Separate the duties, so that the same person does not receive the money, record the money, and sign the checks. Require two signatures on church accounts where you can. Give the congregation a regular, clear report of what came in and what went out. Have the books reviewed by someone who did not keep them, and on a set schedule have a real audit. Limit who can connect a church account to a personal card or an outside business. When a discrepancy appears, do not accept a vague explanation about software and move on. Follow the money until the facts are clear.
Church members should not be suspicious of every bookkeeper. Most saints who handle the offering are honest people who deserve thanks and protection. Good safeguards protect the honest worker as much as they expose the dishonest one. They also protect the testimony of the church in the sight of them that are without.
If you keep the books, remember that you are a steward, not an owner. Bring the work into the light. If you have sinned, confess it, make it right, and do not hide. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).
The world already watches how churches handle money. Doctrine matters, and so does a clean treasury. Provide for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
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