Former church business administrator indicted on tax fraud counts
PITTSBURGH – A federal grand jury has indicted the former business administrator of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Upper St. Clair, on charges of tax fraud.
David E. Reiter, 51, formerly of South Park, began working for the church in 2001.
According to the indictment, about a decade later, Reiter embezzled church funds and used them personally.
The indictment alleges that Reiter failed to pay employment taxes and filed false personal income tax returns which underreported his income.
The church terminated his employment in 2018 when it became apparent that information Reiter gave the congregation about a professional auditor who had allegedly been checking financial records was actually Reiter’s alter ego.
The criminal investigation of the most recent charges was handled by the Internal Revenue Service, according to United States Attorney Scott W. Brady.
Both Reiter and his wife, Connie Jo, 46, had state charges filed against them and were sentenced this year in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
Judge Jeffrey A. Manning sentenced the husband to one to two years in jail for each of 10 counts and ordered him to pay $1.2 million in restitution to Westminster Presbyterian Church. He had entered a plea of no contest to conspiracy to receive stolen property, but had pleaded guilty to counts including theft, forgery, criminal use of a credit card and tampering with records.
Earlier this month, Mrs. Reiter entered a no-contest plea to felony receiving stolen property and conspiracy to receive stolen property.
Manning placed her on probation for three years, including one year of electronic home monitoring, with supervision by Cambria County, and ordered her to pay $979,406 in restitution.
At the time of their arrests, a bank account the Reiters had with PNC Bank revealed numerous large deposits each month, starting in December 2011, marked as “payroll Westminster Pres,” and the unauthorized transfers added up to $979,406.64 through November.
Reiter also had his own Bank of America credit card for legitimate church expenses.
A review of church records showed hundreds of non-church expenses, such as sporting goods, baseball school, medical expenses, musical instrument rentals, concert tickets, gasoline, car washes, Pandora, Starbucks, Sirius XM Radio,” according to a document filed with the state charges.
The couple, according to the affidavit of probable cause, used the money “to pay for numerous vacations to Walt Disney World, Cedar Point, Hersheypark, King’s Island, as well as camping excursions. Other expenses included music lessons for the Reiter children, numerous restaurants and fast-food establishments, scrapbooking supplies, groceries, vehicle repairs, Apple iTunes, Pittsburgh Pirates tickets and concessions, medical expenses, pet care and supplies, credit card payments, along with insurance, vehicle and utility bill payments.”
Theft was committed largely through electronic fund transfers, according to statement released in 2018 by the church.