Federal prosecutors say a deacon at a Tulsa, Oklahoma-area Catholic parish stole nearly $1.5 million from the church over a period of several months in 2025.
Charging documents obtained by EWTN News allege that Deacon John Sommer engaged in a scheme to use parish funds for "personal interests" from March to October of that year.
The documents do not identify the parish in question, referring to it only as "the church," though local Tulsa news reports identified it as Christ the King Parish just outside of the city center. An archived version of the parish's website lists Sommer as a deacon there.
The charging documents, filed in U.S. District Court by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma, state that Sommer served as both business manager and parish manager at the church, where he was "primarily responsible for the administrative and financial functions" of the parish.
He was authorized to initiate financial transactions of up to $30,000 per day, the prosecutors said. Over the months that he allegedly perpetrated the scheme, he carried out dozens of unauthorized transfers that ultimately totaled about $1.4 million, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
The deacon further allegedly "altered the church's accounting records" to make it appear as if the transfers were legitimate.
The documents state that Sommer, if convicted, will forfeit the money to the U.S. government. He could face up to decades in prison according to the statutes under which he is charged.
The parish told local news outlets that most of the money had been recovered via insurance.
The Diocese of Tulsa says on its website that Sommer is on a "leave of absence." The deacon's LinkedIn page says he took the role of the parish's business manager in 2011.
