Ex-pastor, wife appear on church theft charges
UPDATED OCT. 11, 2023: The charges listed against Jeffrey Dean Lang and Kimberley Elaine Lang in this article were dismissed and expunged on January 11, 2022.
A former Butler County pastor and his wife were arraigned Monday on charges alleging they stole more than $53,000 from a West Sunbury church.
Jeffrey Dean Lang, 46, of Glendale, Ohio, the former pastor of West Sunbury Presbyterian Church, and his wife, Kimberly Elaine Lang, 48, were arraigned on theft charges by Magisterial District Judge Lewis Stoughton.
He set bail for Jeffrey Lang at $15,000, which was posted, and released Kimberly Lang on her own recognizance.
The couple's preliminary hearing on the felony theft charges filed by state police is March 31.
They are looking forward to defending themselves at the hearing, their attorney, Adam M. Bishop of Pittsburgh, said in a statement.
“Jeffrey and Kimberly Lang are law-abiding, god-fearing people who faithfully served the West Sunbury United Presbyterian Church and its community for years. They are 100 percent innocent of the allegations levied against them and are shocked and saddened that criminal charges were filed in this case. The Langs fully cooperated with the police investigation into this matter from the very beginning, providing law enforcement with dozens of church documents and financial records that conclusively establish that no crime occurred here. But somehow, despite this overwhelming proof of innocence, police filed charges anyway,” he said in the statement. He declined further comment.
Police allege Jeffrey Lang received more than $33,000 in unauthorized salary compensation while employed at the church.
He and his wife also are accused of using the church bank account “for their family's own personal benefit and not the benefit of the church,” according to state police investigators.
Police said that during 2017 and 2018 unauthorized purchases were made using church-issued debit cards for groceries, gasoline, travel costs, car repairs and eye care.
Payments were made to the University of Dubuque, a private Presbyterian university in Dubuque, Iowa, where Jeffrey Lang was enrolled, police said.
The charges were filed following a 2019 forensic audit of church financial records between 2016 and 2018. The church executive board ordered the audit after discovering a “considerable amount of money” missing from the church bank account, police said.
Jeffrey Lang was employed as the pastor at the church from March 2012 to October 2018, investigators said. During his employment, Jeffrey Lang's “term of call,” or employment contract, included an annual salary and reimbursed expenses.
Among the allowable reimbursed expenses were those for medical-related purchases and car and education expenditures.
“The audit determined that Jeffrey Lang did receive over $33,998 in excess of his allowable compensation,” charging documents reveal.
The payments were made by checks that he deposited into his bank account, police said.
According to investigators, the audit further uncovered alleged misappropriated funds totaling $19,936.32.
Jeffrey Lang resigned from the church in October 2018, investigators said.
