The priest charged with embezzling more than a million dollars from St.Martha Parish in Okemos was in court today asking a judge to un-freeze some bank accounts.
Jonathan Wehrle's lawyer told the court three of them are his mother's accounts and that he's simply a co-signer. Prosecutors say they need proof of that before un-freezing them.
A fourth account is where his mother's social security checks are deposited. The judge is giving her access to that one.
Lawrence Nolan, Wehrle's lawyer, "Any citizen of the United States should be able to get their Social Security. She's not a defendant in this case and certainly none of those monies coming from the federal government can be deemed to have been seized from Saint Martha's in any way."
An audit shows nearly $5 million dollars missing from the parish. Wehrle is officially charged with embezzling at least $100,000 dollars.
He'll be back in court when his preliminary exam continues on September 1st.
