A suburban Atlanta woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for stealing more than $93,000 from a church where she worked.
Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds said in an email Friday that 62-year-old Gwendolyn Hawthorne of Marietta pleaded guilty to stealing money from the Crown of Life Community Baptist Church in Powder Springs, Georgia. Hawthorne says she used church and debit cards for personal purchases and cash withdrawals often at casinos.
Hawthorne says she handled the finances of the church between 2007 and 2014. Reynolds says Hawthorne manipulated accounting reports provided to church leaders to hide the thefts.
Reynolds says the church lost more than $88,000 to Hawthorne along with $5,000 in bank overdraft fees.
Hawthorne must report to prison March 18 at 9 a.m.
