Treasurer pleads guilty, sentenced to probation for embezzling $227,000-plus from Garden Grove church

A treasurer has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years of formal probation for embezzling more than $227,000 from a Garden Grove church.

Moeiletafa Mauga, 64, withdrew cash weekly from the bank account of the First Christian Church of Garden Grove from 2013 to 2017, according to court documents.

She was ordered to pay the amount she stole in restitution.

The Irvine resident pleaded guilty on Thursday, Sept. 12, to seven counts of grand theft with sentencing enhancements for aggravated white-collar crime.

As part of her plea deal, 13 other felony counts of grand theft with sentencing enhancements were dismissed, court records show.

While she was treasurer, Mauga closed the church’s original bank account and opened up another and issued herself a debit card, authorities said.

“Mauga admitted to taking the money and using it for personal expenses and gambling,” Garden Grove Detective Claudia Alarcon said.

Church members said in court documents that Mauga’s actions delayed renovation projects and put them behind on bills and payroll.

“Offerings, tithes and gifts given by faithful Christians for across multiple decades were spent frivolously,” the victim-impact statement from one church member reads.

Even so, the statement asked the court to have mercy on the woman and keep her out of jail because of her age and so she can start repaying the church:

“We have fully forgiven her and will continue to pray for her and her family.”