If my church received a check written out to it, and another bank allowed someone else to cash and deposit it into his/her personal account, what are my options for getting the money back? The national organization gave the check to the first lady of the church. She did not inform the church, but deposited the check into her personal account at a bank other than the bank the church uses. The national organization called the chairman of the board and informed him about the check. What are the options for the church to get the $15,000 back?
We advise that the church officials talk to an attorney, because one of the options will be to take legal action against the woman for conversion (just a legal term for theft) of the check. Another option is to try avoiding legal action by convincing the woman to pay the funds back to the church. Neither of those options will be pretty or painless for the church.
Another option the church can consider is attempting to involve the national organization by providing it with anaffidavit that the funds were not received by the church and that the endorsement on the check was not made on the church's behalf, nor did the church receive any benefit from the check. The national organization could attempt to get its bank to file a claim against the bank that took the check for deposit, and that bank would then be left with the loss unless it takes legal action to collect the funds from its depositor, the thief.
The church should talk to legal counsel first. The church's governing board should be sure it understands its fiduciary obligation regarding the funds as well as the likely fallout of whatever decision it makes.
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We advise that the church officials talk to an attorney, because one of the options will be to take legal action against the woman for conversion (just a legal term for theft) of the check. Another option is to try avoiding legal action by convincing the woman to pay the funds back to the church. Neither of those options will be pretty or painless for the church.