McHenry County authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a Maryland man accused of stealing nearly $80,000 from a Crystal Lake church as part of a fraudulent check scheme.
Reginald Porter, of Capital Heights, Maryland, is facing three counts of theft of between $10,000 and $100,000 and one count of forgery due to his role in the check scheme in December.
Porter could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison if found guilty of the most serious crime. The charge is also probationable.
According to police records obtained by the Lake & McHenry Scanner, the St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church sent a payroll check totaling $79,136 to the Diocesan Investment and Loan Office in Rockford on Dec. 12, 2023. The money was to cover salaries for one month, records show.
However, police records show the check never arrived at Diocesan Investments. Instead, bank records show Porter cashed the check in Maryland on March 25, 2024.
The loan office contacted the church in March
Church officials and officials from the loan office did not know who Reginald Porter was, documents show.
The church contacted the Crystal Lake Police Department and an investigation was started.
Following a lengthy investigation involving authorities in Maryland, the FBI, and the United States Postal Service, charges were filed and an arrest warrant was issued for Porter on Sept. 9, court records show.