ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 24, 2008  

ELCA Synod's Former Treasurer Sentenced to 30 Months in Federal Prison
08-199-BM*

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Barry R. Herr, former treasurer of the
Lower Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), was sentenced Nov. 21 in a federal court to
30 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release,
and he was ordered to pay $799,998 in restitution, according to
a synod news release.
     Herr, 62, Lancaster, Pa., was arrested March 13, 2008, and
charged with 36 counts of criminal use of a communication
facility (electronic transfer of funds) and one count of theft by
deception in the amount of $1,004,732.  Each charge is a felony
of the third degree.
     The charges followed months of investigation into the
misappropriation of synod endowment funds for which the former
treasurer was responsible.  The synod was involved in the
investigation with the Lower Paxton Township Police Department
and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
     Herr's sentence carries with it an order of full restitution
of missing funds to the synod and to the synod's insurance
carrier.  To date, Herr has returned to the synod about $300,000
of the $1 million in stolen funds, the release said.
     At the sentencing, Herr spoke to Federal Judge William
Caldwell and the court.  Herr said he has a "deep sense of
humility to those I have betrayed."
     "I've stolen money from the very people who trusted me," he
told the court.  "I have a hard time living with myself."  Four
other individuals spoke on Herr's behalf.
     The Rev. B. Penrose Hoover, bishop, ELCA Lower Susquehanna
Synod, Harrisburg, Pa., spoke at the sentencing on the synod's
behalf.
     "The actions that Mr. Herr chose to take in stealing more
than $1.1 million from the Lower Susquehanna Synod have caused
great harm to the life and fabric of ministry in this church,"
said Hoover.  "The monetary loss in and of itself has deprived
people in need both materially and spiritually and has hampered
ministry within the synod.  The staff time and concern that have
been expended to deal with the consequences of his actions, as
well as the additional expenses incurred, have deflected
attention and focus from the ongoing work of the church."
     "His actions and his betrayal of trust have undermined the
sense of trust and mutual commitment that is so essential to the
life and ministry of the church.  While the synod continues to
expect that Mr. Herr will make restitution of the stolen funds,
it will require an ongoing process of healing and transparency to
restore the trust that has been undermined or lost."
     Hoover said the synod will continue to pray for Herr, his
family, people affected by his actions and "the healing and
ongoing ministry of the church of Jesus Christ in the Lower
Susquehanna Synod."
-- -- --
     The home page of the ELCA Lower Susquehanna Synod is at
http://www.lss-ELCA.org/ on the Web.

* Barbara A. Myers is director for communication for the ELCA
Lower Susquehanna Synod.

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