A Schuylkill County man is facing charges for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from two local parishes.
Neil Francis Sokola, 49, of Minersville, has been charged with multiple felony counts, including theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and theft by failing to make required disposition of funds. The charges stem from an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of over $373,000 from Minersville's St. Matthew the Evangelist and St. Michael the Archangel parishes, where Sokola served as a bookkeeper from 2012 to 2019.
Investigation Uncovers Financial Irregularities
The charges followed a thorough investigation led by Detective Thomas Robin of the Schuylkill County District Attorney's Office. Detective Robin reported significant financial discrepancies during Sokola’s tenure.The investigation began in 2019 after Reverend Jason Stokes, who became pastor of the parishes in June of that year, was alerted to irregularities by parishioners. Among the issues raised were parishioner checks delayed in deposit and discrepancies between tally sheets from collections and actual bank deposits.
Reverend Stokes implemented changes to align the parish's financial procedures with Diocesan policies, including using the mandated PeachTree accounting software and instituting stricter oversight of collections. However, an audit conducted by the Diocese of Allentown revealed substantial missing cash deposits spanning from 2012 to Sokola’s resignation in November 2019.
$373,328 in Missing Funds
An audit of deposit records uncovered a pattern of missing cash deposits. Forensic analysis revealed that Sokola substituted older or unrelated checks for cash removed from weekly collections. The investigation found discrepancies in 326 deposits, with cash shortages growing significantly each year. The largest deficits occurred in 2017 and 2018, when over $150,000 was allegedly diverted.The total amount of cash never deposited was found to total $373,328.97.
Sokola was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge David Plachko on Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024 and released on $50,000 unsecured bail. Judge Plachko cited Sokola's lack of flight risk, ties to the community, and stable employment as reasons for the unsecured bail.
Sokola is scheduled for a preliminary hearing before Judge Plachko on December 31st, 2024.
REDACTION: Originally, this story was posted that one of the parishes involved was from St. Clair, that information was incorrect. Both parishes were from Minersville.