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Authorities: Man stole from, illegally sold Pitt church

A Greenville man embezzled more than $100,000 from a church where he worked and even sold the church building and grounds without authorization, authorities said Friday.
Posted 2019-12-20T19:41:51+00:00 - Updated 2019-12-20T19:41:51+00:00
Arnie Spencer Jr.

A Greenville man embezzled more than $100,000 from a church where he worked and even sold the church building and grounds without authorization, authorities said Friday.

The Pitt County Sheriff's Office received a report in September of suspicious activity regarding the finances and eventual sale of Piney Grove Original Free Will Baptist Church, which had a Farmville address but was located on U.S. Highway 13 outside of Greenville.

Detectives found that more than $100,000 had been moved between June 2017 and last May from the church’s accounts into the personal accounts of Arnie Spencer Jr., 49, and into the accounts of International Galleries, a defunct business owned by Spencer.

Spencer and other people whom authorities didn't identify also transferred ownership of the church building and grounds without the legal rights to do so, according to investigators.

The new occupants of the property weren't involved in any criminal activity and were unaware that such activity had occurred, authorities said.

Spencer was arrested Wednesday on charges of embezzlement of more than $100,000, obtaining more than $100,000 in property by false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense. He remains in the Pitt County jail under $600,000 bond.

The investigation is ongoing and may result in more arrests, authorities said.

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