United Methodist Church Loses 1.6 Million Dollars in Wire Fraud Scheme
The New England Conference of the United Methodist Church lost $1.6 million on August 5, 2026, after criminals posing as bank officials tricked staff into approving 32 wire transfers. The FBI and Secret Service are investigating. About $200,000 has been recovered so far.
The New England Conference of the United Methodist Church lost $1.6 million to wire fraud on August 5, 2026.
Criminals called conference staff and posed as bank representatives. They created a false sense of urgency to get staff to cooperate. The attackers pushed through 40 wire transfers from a single conference account, each just under the $50,000 internal limit. The bank caught 8 of them. The other 32 went through, totaling $1.6 million.
The money moved fast. Funds were split across 32 bank accounts in 25 countries to make recovery difficult.
Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton and Treasurer Lonnie Chafin confirmed the theft publicly. They said no personal data from the conference database was compromised. About $200,000 has been recovered through coordinated efforts with the FBI, Secret Service, and forensic IT investigators.
The conference has since hired an accounting firm to redesign its internal financial controls. Leadership is also warning other United Methodist ministries about "false urgency" tactics used in wire fraud schemes.
Investigators found that at least three other organizations were hit with similar attacks during the same week.
The conference says it remains committed to its 2027 budget and ongoing ministry work. Bishop Bickerton has asked the church community for prayers and increased financial support as the conference works through the loss.
