Woman could serve 280 years in prison for embezzling at least $670,000 from Louisa church

LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A 64-year-old woman is facing up to 280 years in prison after embezzling at least $670,000 from a Louisa County church during her decades of employment there. On Monday, Oct. 21, the Louisa Commonwealth's Attorney Rusty McGuire announced that 64-year-old Brenda W. Ragland was convicted of 14 counts of embezzlement from an unidentified local church she both worshipped and worked at for over 20 years. According to McGuire, Ragland is confirmed to have stolen at least $670,000 -- however, due to bank records only going back seven years, "the loss could be much higher." “It is a sad day for the church," McGuire said in the Oct. 21 press release. "They put their faith in Mrs. Ragland to manage the church resources and she violated that faith by turning church resources into her personal piggy bank." Man killed, two others hurt in Richmond triple shooting An investigation was initially opened into Ragland following an incident in early 2023. At that time, the church was trying to donate to another local church to help fund a new building. According to McGuire, the church board reached out to Ragland to obtain a letter from the bank stating its available funds, but she was traveling and they could not get in touch with her. This prompted the church board to contact the bank directly in Ragland's stead. "The bank told the church that the church did not have enough money for the donation in their bank account," McGuire said in the release. "The board immediately knew something was wrong." The church obtained and examined its financial records following this incident, which were soon given to the Louisa County Sheriff's Office for further investigation. 20-year-old man dies following crash into tree in Henrico County According to McGuire, it was discovered that Ragland had been taking funds from the church's bank account during her tenure. Additionally, across several years, Ragland deposited the tithings -- or donations -- of congregation members into her own bank account via CashApp. "Ragland wreaked financial havoc on the church that she was supposed to be helping," said senior assistant Commonwealth Megan Riordan in the release. "We hope that the church can financially recover and are thankful to the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office for their thorough investigation of this case." Ragland, who is currently out on bond, is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2025. She faces up to 280 years in prison.