Former Scott County church treasurer was sentenced to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud Jan. 9.
Ralph Tackett, 66, pled guilty to the embezzlement of $512,042 from December 2015 to July 2019 while he was treasurer for a Georgetown church, according to the United States Attorney’s Office. The hearing took place in U.S. District Court in Lexington.
Court documents do not identify the church directly, as church officials are participating in the federal investigation as of Jan. 22. However, Tackett was treasurer at Victory Life Church in Georgetown at an unspecified point, according to Georgetown News Graphic.
Victory Life pastor Gary Toney told the Georgetown News Graphic that he could not comment on the case.
Tackett stole the money by transferring funds from the church account to his personal credit cards, issuing church checks which he deposited into personal accounts, and by unlawfully sending church money via wire transfer to a third party. Payments to the third party started in 2017. Payments started out as voluntary, but later became involuntary as a form of blackmail, according to the Georgetown News Graphic.
The identity of the third party, as well as the nature of the payments, have not been made public as of Jan. 22.
“At all times relevant to the information, Tackett exercised control over the church’s financial affairs to the exclusion of the pastor and other board members,” court documents say. “Among other things, Tackett approved and processed payments, managed mortgage payments, deposited cash offerings, and managed the church’s bank account.”
Tackett’s sentence is scheduled to begin on March 10. In addition to his prison sentence, Tackett will have to pay the church $532,807 in restitution. This amount includes the amount of money embezzled, as well as any estimated costs the church was required to pay as a result of the theft.
33 months is the lightest sentence Tackett could have received, against a possible maximum of 20 years, according to the News Graphic. Tackett is required to serve at least 85% of his prison sentence, and will remain under surveillance from the U.S. Probation Office for three years following release.
