ORLANDO, Fla. — A pastor said his Orlando church has hit hard times after someone stole $50,000 in donations.
The thief deposited a fake check at a bank in Tampa months ago and pocketed the money.
Pastor Ron Heffield said he’s been bounced back and forth by the banks and the law enforcement agencies involved.
Due to a road expansion project, the church views having some of its land taken under eminent domain as a blessing.
Money from the Florida Department of Transportation could end up helping to fill the gap left when the check drained $50,000 out of New Life Community Church.
The check was made out to a man who no one had heard of.
“It's a very big deal to us. We're a small church and that leaves us really strapped," said Heffield.
Heffield said the church banks with Seacoast Bank, and that less than a month after the thief cashed the check, bank managers claimed the church treasurer had once signed a blank check which made anything that happened after that the church's fault.
"They're just ignoring it, hoping it will go away," said Heffield.
But the pastor said he and his treasurer believe the whole thing's a fraud, including the signature.
They've never been shown the original signature.
The thief deposited the check that drew from the church’s Seacoast account into his own account at Wells Fargo in Hillsborough County. The money was on hold for 60 days before he was able to withdraw it.
"When you deposit your funds with them, you expect that they will protect you," said Heffield.
Heffield said he wants to know whether the bank fulfilled its duty to watch over the money.
Seacoast told Channel 9 that talking about the details of the incident is against its privacy policy.
Bu Seacoast officials said, "It is a very unfortunate circumstance for our customer and we continue to work with them to manage the situation."
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has an open investigation, but no results.