Eight people have been arrested after authorities say they stole checks mailed by church parishioners and deposited them into their own bank accounts.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Economic Crimes Unit began a large-scale check fraud investigation in December 2025 after a pastor at Harvest United Methodist Church in Lakewood Ranch reported a significant decrease in mail received by the church.
Parishioners had begun questioning whether their monthly tithe checks had arrived. Investigators later discovered the checks had been stolen and deposited into suspects’ bank accounts.
The investigation showed that more than 20 suspects were involved in the fraudulent activity targeting at least 17 churches in Manatee County between September 2025 and May 2026, Sheriff’s Office officials said.
So far, eight people have been arrested in connection with the investigation: Yucmercy Espinosa Obregon, Luis Miguel Sanchez Santos, Lisaida Castro Gonzalez, Ismery Ferrer Alonso, Luis Enrique Valdes Camejo, Dayanis Leon Hernandez, Duvier Hernandez Canizarez and Isidro Gonzalez Gomez.
The suspects face charges including organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, uttering a forged instrument and criminal use of personal identification.
Detectives said the suspects stole checks mailed by church parishioners and deposited them, unaltered, into their personal bank accounts.
Many of the deposits were made through mobile banking, allowing the activity to go largely undetected.
Parishioners believed their monthly contributions were reaching their intended churches, while the churches often had no reason to suspect individual checks were missing, officials said.
To date, detectives have identified 66 victims in Manatee County and 107 stolen checks, resulting in confirmed losses of more than $72,000.
An additional seven local victims and seven checks remain unconfirmed, representing another $1,800 in potential losses.
The investigation also identified significant losses involving victims outside Manatee County, with 268 stolen checks and nearly $194,000 in confirmed losses.
The joint investigation, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, remains ongoing as detectives work to identify additional victims and those responsible.
Economic Crimes detectives also have active arrest warrants for seven additional people, and efforts to locate and arrest them are ongoing.
Some are believed to be in the Miami area, while at least one has been confirmed to be in Cuba.
The investigation remains active.
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