Guilty verdict in church fraud case

A former Seneca church worker has been sent to prison for two years and ordered to make restitution in the amount of $27 thousand dollars. An Oconee jury found Stan Dimitroff guilty of breach of trust with fraudulent intent, a case in which the church the Life Changing Ministries lost money that was intended to help pay the bills of their building project. One of the jurors told 101.7/WGOG NEWS, “It’s a sad situation.” Dimitroff did not testify in his defense. However, standing before the sentencing judge, he conceded that he had altered checks, but did not benefit. Judge Sprouse ordered 10 years in prison, suspended to two years, credit for three days in jail, and probation five years. Dimitroff pleaded with the judge for a straight probation sentence which, he said, would help him to be able to make restitution payments. But Sprouse said he listened to the testimony and found the case “troubling.” In testimony, church leaders described a devastating scenario that left emotional scars in their church family and tested the faith of worshippers who gave to the church building fund. One of those church leaders, the Rev. Donnie Rogers, said, afterward, “He (Dimitroff) deserved what he gave him. The judge was certainly fair to him.”