Former Employee Sentenced To More Than Eight Years in Prison
For Embezzling More Than $850,000 From Church
- He Used Church Money to Buy Cars, Diamond Ring, Sports Tickets and Other Luxuries -

     WASHINGTON – Jason Todd Reynolds, 40, was sentenced today to 97 months in prison on federal charges stemming from his embezzling more than $850,000 from a church in the District of Columbia where he worked as the chief financial officer.

     The sentencing, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., David Beach, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service, and Jeannine A. Hammett, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

     Reynolds, of Bowie, Maryland, was convicted by a jury in August 2011 of a total of 12 counts. The charges included one count each of wire fraud, bank fraud, making a false statement on a loan application, and fraud in the first degree, as well as four counts each of aggravated identity theft and tax evasion.

     Following the verdict in August, the Honorable Gladys Kessler ordered that Reynolds be detained pending sentencing. In addition to the prison term, today Judge Kessler ordered that Reynolds pay $851,298 in restitution to the victim as well as $185,435 in taxes. She also issued a separate order of forfeiture in the amount of $851,298. Finally, upon completion of his prison term, Reynolds will be placed on five years of supervised release. During that time, the judge has ordered that he not work in any capacity handling the finances of an organization.

     According to evidence introduced at trial, Reynolds was hired by the National City Christian Church in 2001 and later became its Chief Financial Officer. Reynolds had control over the church’s bank accounts, credit cards, and checks. He also was responsible for conducting “reconciliation” of the church’s accounts. Using his position of trust, between 2003 and 2008, Reynolds used various means to defraud the church. Evidence showed that Reynolds embezzled money from the church on a weekly basis.

     For example, Reynolds handwrote himself numerous unauthorized checks in addition to his biweekly salary. He paid his home mortgage and personal credit card from church bank accounts. Reynolds also misused his church credit card to make numerous luxury purchases, including the purchase of three cars (a Lexus SUV, a Range Rover, and a Nissan Maxima), a $12,000 diamond ring, a deck/porch addition to his home, high-end furniture including a projection-screen home theater and leather seating, numerous vacations at four-star accommodations, and sports tickets, including courtside season tickets to the Washington Wizards basketball games.

     The government estimated the loss to the Church at more than $850,000. In 2007 alone, Reynolds took more than $145,000 in unauthorized payments and benefits. In certain instances, Reynolds took donations to the church, as well as rent payments from charities leasing space at the church, and directly converted those payments to his own use.

     “Mr. Reynolds’s crime is beyond offensive – he stole more than $850,000 from a church, even diverting money intended for a food bank and a battered women’s group,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “He exploited other people’s charity to fund his extravagant vacations, VIP tickets to NBA games, and fancy cars. The prison sentence imposed today is a just end to Mr. Reynolds’s spending spree.”

     “Today's sentencing is a direct result of the excellent partnership IRS-CI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office has in combating violations of federal law,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Hammett. “Honest and law-abiding citizens are fed up with the likes of those who use deceit and fraud to line their pockets with other people’s money. This sentence should serve as a deterrent to those who might contemplate similar fraudulent actions because this type of financial fraud will not go undetected and those individuals will be held accountable.”

     In addition to the theft, the evidence showed that Reynolds evaded taxes, not reporting any of the income he embezzled from the Church and failing to pay any taxes on it. In addition, to hide his embezzlement and re-fill the church’s accounts, Reynolds forged a false corporate resolution using the names of various church officers purporting to authorize him to obtain a $450,000 line of credit. He immediately withdrew the full amount of that loan, leaving the National City Christian Church with an enormous debt of which it was unaware – until the loan came due after the defendant’s termination.

     According to the government’s evidence, the offenses stopped only after the Church fired Reynolds over other problems involving his management of the finances.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Special Agent in Charge Beach and Acting Special Agent in Charge Hammett commended the work of Special Agent Melissa Blake of the U.S. Secret Service and Special Agent Michael Helgesen of the IRS, who investigated the case. They also acknowledged the work of Revenue Agent Tammy Barker of the IRS, who analyzed the tax loss from the defendant’s unreported income, and Detective Martin Hoffmaster of the Alexandria, Virginia Police Department, who conducted a forensic analysis of Reynolds’s computer. In addition, they commended the work of Paralegal Specialists Tasha Harris and Sarah Reis and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Hooks and Jonathan Haray, who investigated and tried the case.

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