Former Rapid City Priest Charged with Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, and Transporting Stolen Money

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Kent, Washington, man was charged in federal district court with 50 counts of Wire Fraud, nine  counts of Money Laundering, and one count of Transportation of Stolen Money.

Marcin Stanislaw Garbacz, age 41, a former Rapid City priest, was charged on May 21, 2019.  Garbacz appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on July 3, 2019, and pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

The maximum penalty upon conviction is 20 years in federal prison and/or a $500,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $6,000 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  Restitution may also be ordered.

The charges relate to Garbacz, while employed as a pastor with the Diocese of Rapid City, defrauding the Diocese by stealing cash donations made by parishioners for his own personal use between July 2012 and April 2018. 

The charges are merely accusations and Garbacz is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

The investigation is being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson is prosecuting the case.

Garbacz was detained pending trial.  A trial date has not been set.