Church accountant who stole from Dudley Christian centre to pay back £30,000
A church accountant who stole more than £400,000 from a Christian Centre in Dudley has been ordered to pay back over £30,000 that was tracked by police to a pension pot.
Stephen Methuen worked as a volunteer treasurer and accountant for Amblecote Christian Centre and over a six year period stole the large sum of cash.
In October 2012 he was sentenced to five years behind bars for his crimes but an investigation to confiscate his assets has continued.
Initially a financial investigation found he was penniless and he was ordered to pay back just £1.
However, appearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court on April 8, Methuen, of Rubery, Birmingham, was ordered to pay back £34,000 which officers had tracked to a pension pot in his name.
The West Midlands Asset Confiscation Enforcement Team had pursued the cash following his sentence two and a half years ago and worked with the Crown Prosecution Service to bring the 60-year-old back before the court.
Vera Williams who led the investigation, said: "This just shows how committed we are to ensuring people return assets they have gained as a result of crime.
"Although Methuen was jailed back in October 2012 we have remained focussed on this case and this is a great result that will see tens of thousands of pounds returned to the church."
Adrian Lowe, from Amblecote Christian Centre, added: "This is another example of the great support that police have given us as a church family.
"Both the team that led the original investigation and now the West Midlands Asset Confiscation Enforcement Team have been exemplary in the way they have handled this case.
"We are grateful for the service and support to us as a church family".
The West Midlands Asset Confiscation Enforcement Team forms part of the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit which is committed to tackling organised crime across the region.
