The former business manager of Saint Matthias Church in Bala Cynwyd has been charged with theft of more than $1.1 million from the church, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele announced Friday.
Sean Sweeney, 60, of Mount Pleasant, S.C., served as the church’s business manager from 2017 until his firing in 2024, Steele said.
Investigators found that from 2018 through 2024, Sweeney was responsible for providing the church’s payroll records processing company, PrimePay, with records for who should be paid and how much. PrimePay paid by direct deposit $1,134,906.35 into bank accounts owned and controlled by Sweeney, Steele said.
Bank records show that the money Sweeney received was used for his personal expenses, including educational tuition, vehicle-related payments, and vacation costs, Steele said.
Sweeney surrendered to Montgomery County detectives on Thursday and he was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Todd N. Barnes, who set bail at $100,000 unsecured, Steele said.
Sweeney was required to surrender his passport, and was ordered not to have contact with employees connected to the case and is not allowed at or near Saint Matthias Church, Steele said.
Sweeney could not be reached for comment Friday night.
In December 2024, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Office of Investigations referred the case to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Steele said.
Kenneth A. Gavin, a spokesperson for the archdiocese, said in a statement Friday night: “These charges are serious and disturbing to all of us. The Archdiocese and the parish will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as the criminal matter enters its next phase. The Archdiocese is committed to seeking full restitution to the parish.”
According to the affidavit of probable cause, a member of the church’s finance council who had been a school classmate of Sweeney warned a church official in May 2024 “that Sweeney had personal finance issues and was borrowing money from family members and not paying them back.”
