Priest Sentenced for Sending His Sister $100,000 in Stolen Church Funds

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A retired priest in Jefferson City, Mo., who admitted to writing himself a $200,000 check from the bank account of the Wardsville, Mo., church he pastored, was sentenced in federal court today for sending his sister a check for $100,000 stolen from the church's account.

The Rev. Ignazio C. Medina, also known as "Ignatius," 73, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to three months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Medina to pay a fine of $7,500.

On July 9, 2024, Medina pleaded guilty to transporting stolen property across state lines.

Medina, a Catholic priest, was pastor at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Wardsville from 2013 to 2021. Some financial irregularities arose at St. Stanislaus in 2018, and in the course of investigating the diocese discovered the parish had a bank account that was not previously reported on the budget or annual report. Medina was asked to include this bank account in the parish's annual report, and in 2020 he reported an account balance of about $358,000.

After Medina was transferred to a different parish in 2021, it was discovered that he had emptied that bank account. While some expenditures from the account appeared to be church-related, on June 10, 2021, Medina had written a $100,000 check to his sibling in Tucson, Arizona. The next day, he had also written a $200,000 check payable to himself.

Medina, when confronted, claimed the bank account was funded by donations that were not intended for the parish itself, but rather were intended for his own discretionary use. Donors who had contributed checks deposited into the bank account contradicted Medina's statement. Several individuals told investigators the checks they wrote to St. Stanislaus were intended for parish purposes, and that they never had any conversations with Medina authorizing a different use of the funds. One donor told investigators he intended his donation to be used in the school in memory of a deceased friend.

Medina also claimed he was refunding donations and that his sibling in Tucson was one of the donors. In fact, his sibling was not a source of donations to the account, and told investigators that Medina had said that the money was intended to care for their ailing mother.

This case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Kummerer. It was investigated by the FBI.