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Okemos priest accused of embezzlement in court

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Posted at 3:51 PM, Oct 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-20 15:51:51-04

The Okemos priest accused of embezzlement is in court Friday for a preliminary examination. A detective working on the case will be testifying.

Jonathan Wehrle, Reverend of St. Martha Parish, was charged with embezzlement over $100,000 and the accusations date back to 2012 and include millions of dollars.

Investigators say Wehrle was writing parish checks for personal expenses. Checks totaling more than $1.85 million were used for building his personal residence. The audit showed more than $140 thousand in parish funds spent for his home last year alone..
The investigation came after a routine financial audit by the Catholic Diocese of Lansing.