Former Chairman of Christian Science Church in Los Angeles, California, Pleads Guilty in $11 Million Fraud Case

Charles Thomas Sebesta, a former chairman of the Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist, in Hollywood, California, faced federal charges over money taken from the congregation. According to a 2018 report from Courthouse News, Sebesta was 54 and an unsealed indictment alleged that he had stolen more than $11 million from the church. Reports differ on the figure in later coverage, with one citing $11.5 million and another $11.4 million.

Daily News reported that Sebesta joined the Fifth Church as a facilities manager in 2001 and later became chairman of the congregation. A Los Angeles Times report from August 2019 said a federal grand jury indictment released that Monday charged Sebesta, then 54, with the theft. That report stated that he had used church money for personal expenses, including the purchase of a house and a membership in Club 33, an exclusive dining club at Disneyland. Courthouse News later reported that the funds had been used to buy a $2 million home and the Disneyland club membership.

Sebesta later pleaded guilty to federal charges of bank fraud and wire fraud. Daily News reported that he entered the plea on a Monday and faced up to 60 years in prison. Other reports gave the plea month as February 2020, with one stating that he pleaded guilty “in February of last year” in a 2021 article. Reports also gave his age as 55 and 56 at different points.

A trust placed in a church leader carries a corresponding duty to account for it, as Luke 12:48 underscores.

In August 2021, Sebesta, then 56 and of Huntington Beach, was sentenced in federal court. The Los Angeles Times reported that he received a 130-month prison term and was ordered to repay the money to the Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist, Los Angeles. MinistryWatch described the sentence as 11 years in prison. The restitution order was reported as $11.7 million, a figure that differs from the earlier estimates of the amount taken.